The Bookworm and the Bloody Bird
by LeoLeonte
Summary: Hermione is bored and tired of everything. What happens, when she meets a certain mischievous angel and gets roped into another round of 'saving the world?
1. Chapter 1

Patrolling the halls was either mind numbingly boring, or so eventful, bordering on dangerous, that she had to crash on the couch in the common room afterwards out of exhaustion.

Today had been nightmarish. George had gone a little crazy on the first Hogsmeade Weekend and had given half off everything to the students. He had made a killing, no doubt, but the castle was completely flooded with prank items. She loved a laugh, just like the rest, but it was getting way out of hand. That, and none of the kids had the same kind of style and creativity like the Weasley twins in their glory days. These kids just bought a product and followed the directions on the box. In the end, it just became boring and predictable, not to mention messy.

She was far too young to be thinking like that. Granted, she was one of the oldest students there, but she was still just nineteen. Aged and hardened from war, but still nineteen. She was supposed to enjoy life! That was just a bit hard, when she saw dead bodies every time she turned a corner. Sometimes she regretted returning for her final year, if someone asked her, why she had returned, she wouldn't be able to answer. Hermione Granger was supposed to be in control, she was supposed to have a plan, but these days she was just drifting.

She was so lost in thought as she went into the next classroom on her route, that she almost walked into a huge wall of golden fluff. Startled, she backpedaled a few steps, realizing that the great wall of fluff was actually a set of six wings in various golden shades. Attached to the wings was a man with light brown hair, in dire need of a trim. He was sucking on a lollipop, looking out of the window with such a gleeful expression, that she was momentarily distracted. He looked so carefree and childish, and she envied him.

She leaned against the doorway, observing him a little.

"Those wings make quite the fashion statement." She told him, with a lifted eyebrow. The deer in the headlights expression on his face was priceless, and she felt her mouth tugging ever so slightly into a smile.

His surprised expression turned into a frown, and he ruffled his wings, unsuccessfully trying to hide them behind his back.

"You aren't supposed to see those!" he hissed at her after taking out the lollipop.

"Why not? Transfiguration accident? If it helps your embarrassment, I was once turned into a cat for about a week." She tried.

He looked at her indignant and confused. "No! These babies are not accidental, or any kind of statement! They are, however, supposed to be invisible, so how in the fiery pits of hell, can you see them?" He continued incredulously in a horribly American accent.

"Well, they are honestly hard to miss. How did you even get through the door, with those?" She wondered, walking closer to him.

The man looked at her like she was an idiot, but answered nonetheless

"They're metaphysical, they don't really exist, so that isn't really a problem."

"They're beautiful." She whispered, reaching out her hand. He shivered, as her fingers ran down one of the large feathers. He suddenly turned around, so the wings were out of her reach. He gave her a very slow once over, that made her feel incredibly naked

"Well, missy. The same thing could be said about you." He said, stalking towards her with the grace of a feline. She gulped, she knew she was in trouble, in more ways than once. He was a very powerful man, if he was even human, which she very much doubted by now. But the way he was smirking at her, as if she were some kind of dessert, waiting to be gobbled up, made butterflies the size of eagles soar around in her stomach.

She looked up, at met his eyes, and they were incredible. She had never seen anything like them, like a kaleidoscope of gold and green, and they confirmed her thoughts; He was most definitely not human.

With the speed of light, he grabbed her, and in less than the blink of an eye, they were somewhere else, that definitely wasn't Hogwarts. It looked like a living room, and a very opulent one of those. She looked around in wonder, at the forest green wallpaper and the furniture, all covered in leaf gold, and cream-colored fabric, that looked impossibly soft.

"Now, what are you, girl." He growled.

"What do you mean, what am I? You're the one with the wings - what are you?"

"What am I? How rude!"

"You just asked me that exact same question!" Hermione shrieked.

"Fine." The man huffed. "Just give me your name."

"Hermione." She said, crossing her arms.

"Now, species?"

Hermione rolled her eyes "Well, I'm a witch, but you ought to know that, since you were at Hogwarts school of _witchcraft_ and wizardry."

"Oh no, Honey, you're much more, than just a witch."

Hermione scrunched her eyebrows in bewilderment. "I'm pretty sure I'm just a witch. A pretty powerful one, if I'm being immodest though." She said, blushing.

He smiled at her in a way that could only be described as predatory "I don't mind immodesty at all, Gorgeous" he said with an eyebrow waggle.

Hermione was getting whiplash from this guy's change in moods, and she blushed even more at the innuendo. She cleared her throat

"Your turn."

"Just call me Gabriel" he frowned.

"And species?" She imitated him.

Gabriel pursed his lips "Try to guess - we'll make it a game, every time you get it wrong, you lose some clothes"

"Are you out of your mind?" Hermione hissed scandalized

"Yeah, probably" he shrugged. "But it's the only way you're going to know" He winked at her.

She huffed "Not a chance"

"Aw, come on! What's a guy got to do to get a little action here? Where's the fun in you?"

"I'm plenty of fun" she retorted.

"Oh yeah? Where? In your knee socks?" he smirked, making her stick her tongue out at him. He stared hungrily, as the pink little thing came out between her lips.

"Now, that was immature. I approve."

"I won't ask, then. Either way, you're not a wizard. It's impossible to apparate or disapparate within Hogwarts grounds" Hermione sniffed. "Where are we anyway?"

"Let's just call it my nest, shall we?" Gabriel purred.

Hermione gave him a deadpan look. "Great. I've been captured by a bloody bird" She grumbled. Gabriel snapped his fingers, and suddenly her knee socks were missing.

"That wasn't a guess! Give them back!"

"Nope. Even if it wasn't a guess, I would still keep them because of your cheek."

"Take me back to Hogwarts. Now. I have to finish my rounds anyways" Hermione huffed.

Gabriel rolled his eyes "Rounds, wow. Good times." Hermione just scowled at him.

"Fine" He sighed. He grabbed her around the waist, and she closed her eyes. they reappeared in the same classroom they had left from. She slowly opened her eyes, to find him staring intently at her, with those impossible eyes, and before she knew it, he was kissing her. She sighed as her eyes fluttered closed and she felt his tongue move against her lips. She slowly opened her mouth, letting him in. He tasted like the lollipop he had eaten when she found him – she had always loved cherry.

He broke the kiss and smirked at her dazed expression.

"Laters" He winked at her, and disappeared with a whoosh.

Hermione stomped her foot petulantly. She didn't know what had gotten in to her. That was _not_ the way she was supposed to behave. Hermione Granger was _logical_ , always processing everything before taking a decision. Letting some guy kiss her, not even knowing what bloody species he was, just wasn't even sane.

Even if he was handsome, and charming and a really amazing kisser.

She sighed to herself. She would probably wake up in a moment. Only dreams were that surreal.


	2. Chapter 2

What. The. Hell, Gabriel thought to himself. He had gotten so flustered, that he almost landed in the kitchen sink.

Nothing about that entire situation was possible. He was deep undercover, hiding from the Win-sisters and Cassie, not to mention auntie Amara, and then this chick shows up! Albeit a hot, young, British chick in a perfectly pressed school uniform, with matching knee socks…

Back on track, Gabriel!

Hotness aside – she could see his wings, which wasn't supposed to be possible, unless she was an archangel at the very least, and he really couldn't be that attracted to any of his brothers.

She was powerful, that was for sure, but she wasn't an angel, and he was pretty sure she wasn't a demon, she was too hot for that (no pun intended) but then what was she?

He went into his living room and threw himself on the couch, deciding to put off the mystery of her species, in favor of more exciting thoughts. He smirked, thinking about her red cheeks as he pulled out the knee socks from his pocket. He should have taken another clothing item instead. He thought about the kiss he had given her, which had thrown him completely off kilter. That had been stupid – he still didn't know if she was a threat, and either way, he wasn't supposed to get all twisted and moony eyed over some girl, who may or may not be human. He was supposed to be a smart, self-preservationist. Fooling around with some girl, not knowing anything about her, was the opposite of that. Then again, didn't he always fool around with people he didn't know? Difference was, that she knew something about him, that could potentially be disastrous for him, if she were to tell the wrong people.

He frowned to himself, making a decision.

…

Her room was pretty neat, he had to admit. Not as luxurious as the warehouse he had turned into his own home, but hers was in a castle, which was so much cooler. Location, location, location. Of course, living in a castle would defy the purpose of laying low.

He felt a bit like a creep, as he stood, observing her as she slept in her bed, but figured it would be worth it. Hopefully Stockholm Syndrome would kick in fast.

He touched her forehead gently, pushing her into a deeper sleep. Then he picked her up, bridal style, and brought her home.

He stood for a while, not knowing what to do. It would be presumptuous to put her in his own bed, right? In the end he gave in, and put her gently down on the couch.

He crouched in front of her face, studying it. "What the hell are you?" he whispered. He had been right about her being beautiful, it wasn't just some fake flattery, which he was otherwise an expert in giving, in order to get people to sleep with him.

Her skin was light and silky smooth, with rosy cheeks. What fascinated him the most, were her lips, which reminded him of rose petals from the Garden in Heaven itself. Her eyes were beautiful too, he knew, even if he couldn't see them at the moment – brown like his favorite chocolate, infused with caramelly golden flecks.

Her eyes were starting to move underneath her eyelids, either from dreaming or waking up. He felt tempted to take a peek at her dreams, but ended up panicking.

What the hell had he been thinking, bringing her here? She was going to be uber pissed! And then what was he supposed to do with her? Tie her to a chair? While tying her up seemed very tempting in several scenarios, it might not be the best call if he wanted her to collaborate.

Caught up in his own internal ranting, he hadn't realized, that big brown eyes were already staring at him.

Hermione was watching, as hundreds of expressions flittered over Gabriel's during his obviously conflicted internal monologue. He wasn't supposed to be there, when she woke up – he was supposed to be a dream. Slowly she realized her location - she was lying on the couch she had admired the day before. She frowned

"Why am I here?" She ground out. The deer in the headlights-thing was cute as ever, but at the moment it served more to annoy her.

"Um, I can explain…" He trailed off.

"Yes?" She asked expectantly.

"Well, why don't we have a cup of tea or something? You Brits love that, right?" He deflected, to Hermione's frustration. He moved to sit on the couch opposite her, and snapped his fingers. A full English tea set appeared on the coffee table, complete with scones, cream puffs and little sandwiches, making Hermione lose her breath

"How did you do that?" She asked shakily. His only reply was a smirk

"No one can produce food out of thin air. It's one of the five Principal Exceptions to Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration, so how did you do it?" She growled, glaring at him.

"Well, Sweetheart, that brings us back to our original discussion. What am I?" He smirked at her deviously, eyeing her cupcake pajamas.

"I'm not playing your game." She sneered at him.

"Fine, be like that. I'm an angel – an archangel, specifically." Gabriel rolled his eyes at her, giving her a little mock salute.

She gave him a deadpan look "Right, and I happen to be a mermaid."

He glared at her, ruffling his wings behind him, stretching them to their full span. It seemed as if all the oxygen had left the room, everything around them went darker, except for Gabriel and his wings, which shone brightly.

"Alright. Angel." Hermione gulped.

Suddenly the air returned to the room, and Gabriel was back to smirking at her, leaning against the couch. She was again fascinated by his wings, and the way they seemed to go through the couch rather than getting squished behind him. She shook herself out of it.

"That still doesn't explain why I'm here."

Gabriel sighed "I'm kind of in hiding. You, seeing those babies back there, isn't really normal. I'm trying to figure out how it's possible. I spent millennia in hiding among primordial deities, and they never suspected a thing. So, what makes you so special?" He squinted at her.

"I'm not so special. I'm just a normal witch, a bit more powerful than average, but I prefer to think, that it comes from hard work." She replied, bewildered.

"Hard work? Are you for real? Power is power, either you have it or you don't. Hard work is totally overrated if you ask me."

"Well, not all of us can just snap our fingers and have everything, some of us have to follow the rules." Hermione huffed.

Gabriel lifted an eyebrow "Except, something tells me you're not above breaking them from time to time, am I right?"

"Well, if I could produce food out of thin air, I would definitely have had a better time last year." She mumbled to herself.

That's when Gabriel noticed the other things, that her beauty had masked before. The clavicle that was a little too pronounced, the small scar on her throat and the way that she seemed to curl in on herself, her eyes subtly darting around, looking for exits that weren't there. That girl had been through hell, metaphorically at the very least. What had happened to her?

"Back on track." She interrupted his musings "Still doesn't explain, why you felt the need to kidnap me in the middle of the night" Her tone got increasingly angry.

Gabriel rubbed his face. "I can't have you going around, blabbing to everyone that you saw a dude with wings, especially a triple set."

"Well, excuse you! I most definitely do not blab!" She exclaimed, indignant.

"All the same. I also worry, that you might need protection. If you can see those wings, who knows what else you can see? Demon faces? Fricking God? You know how many would want to get a piece of that action?"

"I can take care of myself just fine." She ground out.

"Oh yeah?" He asked, and swift as lightning, he had her pinned to the couch.

Hermione glowered at him. "Fine." She conceded.

"Plus, I also thought you might need a bit of fun. You definitely seem tired of that stick you have, sitting in your ass."

She scrunched up her nose. "Must you be so crude?" She sniffed, making Gabriel laugh out loud as he released her.

"Oh, I'm going to have fun, corrupting you! Let's go." He said, taking her hand to pull her up.

"I'm still in my pajamas." Hermione pointed out.

"Oh, right." Gabriel looked down with a lewd smirk, and with a snap of his fingers, Hermione found herself in a school uniform, similar to the one she had worn the day before, with the exception, that the skirt was considerably shorter.

Gabriel grinned at her disgruntled expression. "Showtime!"


	3. Chapter 3

When Hermione opened her eyes, they were standing outside a bar. She looked down at her uniform. "I don't think I should be wearing this." She said.

"You're right" Gabriel said next to her left ear "I would totally prefer you naked, but that might also be frowned upon."

Hermione really couldn't tell, if he was joking or not, and she gave him a deadpan look. "Where is my wand, by the way?"

"Oh, the stick? You don't need that right now." He waved his hand dismissively at her.

"It's not a stick, it's a wand, and I need it to do magic, and I need it right now!" She exploded in outrage. Gabriel rolled his eyes, and with a snap of his fingers, she was dressed in a mini-skirt that would definitely show off her knickers should she bend over the slightest bit, heels she was certain she wouldn't be able to walk in and a shirt that had way more ruffles than should be possible considering its tiny size. At least she also had her wand in her hand, but Gabriel grabbed her by the arm, and pulled her inside with him, before she could fix her clothes. She gave him a disgruntled look and he snapped his fingers, producing a handbag. Hermione looked around suspiciously.

"You can't just do that around muggles!" she hissed at him.

He rolled his eyes so hard, she was worried he might see his own brain.

"Puh-lease. People see, what they want to see. Now put the stick in the handbag. We are looking for someone." Hermione looked around, bewildered. She wasn't sure se wanted to look for anyone in there. The bar was filled to the brim, with bikers and greasy looking old men with dirty clothes and beer gut.

Gabriel smirked and pointed out the vilest looking of them all. He had a mean, but stupid look, that reminded her of the late Vincent Crabbe, and he was so dirty, that his fingers made greasy, sticky imprints on his glass.

"That's the guy." Gabriel's smirk evolved into a devious smile.

"I am _not_ going over there." Hermione protested.

"Don't worry, sweetheart, you aren't going anywhere, but I'll give you a little backstory. I've been undercover before, but the problem is that it gets boring real fast. I acknowledge, that besides belonging to the actual species, I am no angel, metaphorically, but if there's something I hate, it's jerks and bullies, and I like to give them a little payback. Just desserts you might say."

"So what, you're like some kind of avenging angel then?"

"Nah, that sounds way too righteous, and also a little too smite-y for me. I pull pranks – most of them even survive." Gabriel explained.

Hermione looked horrified.

"Most of them?"

"Well, yeah. Accidents happen etc. and then there are also some types that just shouldn't be roaming the streets. I just give them a little push in the right direction. I thought we could start out small – this guy is just your garden variety douchebag. Almost every night, he gets drunk, and then he goes out to pee, where the homeless people sleep, around the corner from here, mostly not caring if he pees on people or the wall."

"Wow. That's quite revolting. And what, you beat him up or something?"

"What? No! What kind of guy do you take me for? I'm more into the poetic kind of justice, getting creative. What do you think – incontinence or do we lock him in a port-a-potty?" He asked, waggling his eyebrows.

Hermione laughed. "Port-a-potty. Definitely port-a-potty."

He grinned and snapped his fingers. The man suddenly stood with a pained expression, and walked out the door in fast steps.

Gabriel grabbed Hermione by the arm, and they were suddenly standing outside, where the man was peeing on some blankets in a corner. Gabriel narrowed his eyes and snapped his fingers, making a filthy looking port-a-potty appear behind the man. Hermione wrinkled her nose and drew her wand, and when the guy turned around, she cast a tripping jinx, making him fall, face first into the toilet bowl.

"Nice one" Gabriel commented approvingly. A few fixes later, the locked port-a-potty was standing in the man's own living room, and Hermione and Gabriel were back in Gabriel's kitchen, eating chocolate cake and laughing till their bellies ached.

"So, is this all you do? Pranking people?" Hermione asked, wiping away a stray tear.

"What do you mean, all I do? I'll have you know, that this is an honorable vocation." Gabriel told her, swinging around a dessert spoon for effect.

"Well" She started carefully. "You told me you were in hiding – who are you hiding from?" She asked, taking his hand.

Later, Gabriel would swear to himself, that it had been because he had been high on chocolate, but at the moment, he thought that if she could see his wings, she already had power over him to sell him out, easily. She might as well know the rest.

"Mostly, I just want to be alone, you have any siblings?" She shook her head. "Lucky you" He mumbled. "I have these brothers. You probably read the Bible or you were told things from someone who read it, or you saw some kind of movie, that had angels in it, or whatever."

"What, you mean you aren't a woman played by Tilda Swinton?" She asked teasingly.

"Well, I can be. I just prefer to be a guy. I think that fits my personality more." He winked at her

"So, your brothers?"

"Yeah. At first it was just us, me, Raphael, Michael, Lucifer and Dad of course. And then there was Aunt Amara, who we had to lock up, because she tried to eat the world. Lucifer was smart, even if he was a bit of a jackass, and Michael was always kind of self-righteous. Raphael was quiet, I suppose. He always had something to read or to fix. I was always the prankster. Everything was great at first, but then dad created the humans. Lucifer was jealous, because you took dad's attention. We were too, but Lucifer got aggressive about it, so dad had Michael throw him in a cage in the deepest part of hell."

"That's horrible" Hermione whispered. "To play out brothers against each other like that is just horrible"

Gabriel smiled gently at her. "I thought so too, and after that, dad left. After Lucifer was thrown in the cage, no other angel dared to rebel. Michael followed dad's orders, or at least, what he imagined they would have been, had he been there. In the end, things just turned more and more sour, so eventually I left too. I couldn't take it, so I ran away."

"So it's Raphael and Michael left in – uh, Heaven?"

"It's a lot more complicated than that. Us four were just the Archangels, but there are millions of other angels out there, like Cherubs or Seraphs and stuff." Gabriel smiled, thinking about a certain little Seraph he knew, who had a penchant for trouble.

Hermione sat, listening in fascination.

"Anyhow, There are no Archangels in Heaven anymore. As I understand it, it's more of a strange sort of democracy up there these days."

"Then what happened to Michael and Raphael?"

"That, my fair maiden is a story for another day." Gabriel said, grabbing Hermione close. When she opened her eyes, they were standing in his bedroom. She folded her arms across her chest.

"No."

"Aw, come on! Can't blame a guy for trying." He winked at her. "Just, I dunno – make yourself comfortable. I'll stay on the couch or something."

Hermione hesitated. She could tell, there was something he wasn't telling her, but he had woken her up in the middle of the night, and she was knackered. Luckily it was the Weekend, but she still had to get back to Hogwarts and ready for classes on Monday She still wasn't convinced it wasn't all a dream.

In the end, the decision was made for her, as Gabriel placed two fingers on her forehead, making her fall asleep. He picked her up, bridal style and tucked her in after transfiguring her clothes back to her original cupcake pajamas. He smiled gently and kissed her forehead. He stood back to look at her, as she was sleeping.

He was way too old for her, by several billion years, in fact, but that didn't stop that heart, that he wasn't supposed to have, from beating a little harder around her. She was different, he supposed, it seemed like he couldn't hide anything from her. First the wings, now the verbal diarrhea – what the hell was happening?

He went in the living room to stay on the couch – not to sleep, but to think.


	4. Chapter 4

Hermione woke up feeling more well rested than she had since before the war. Since ever if she was being honest with herself.

The sheets were perfect, silky soft but with the smell of fresh air, like it had been hung to dry in the sun on a summer day. Not the rags they had at Hogwarts, that were scratchy and smelled like the dungeons.

She opened her eyes and sat up in the bed, with her heart pounding. Her sheets were supposed to be scratchy, so why weren't they?

That's when everything came back to her. The wings, the angel, the guy and the port-a-potty. She hid her face in her hands. What she had done was basically muggle baiting, which was illegal for a good reason. If the ministry found out, she was going to have her wand snapped, for sure. She wondered, why she hadn't received a letter already

She got out of bed in order to find the exit, but realized there were no doors and the window was bolted shut, even though she suspected it was just a decoration anyways. She couldn't find her wand either, so she was basically helpless. Trying to keep herself from panicking, she started searching the walls for signs of a hidden door, but found none. She was about to check out the window, when Gabriel appeared behind her, making her scream.

"Well, good morning to you too, sweetheart" he winked at her cheekily.

"There is nothing good about it." Hermione huffed. "What we did yesterday was horrible, and I have to get back. Either take me there or at least give me my wand, so I can apparate to Hogsmeade." she said shakily, not daring to look him in the eye.

"Okaay. I think we need to talk about this. Eugh, I'm not very good at that, so bear with me. So, you think what we did yesterday was bad – why?"

" We'll, we locked a man in a – a port-a-potty! How is that not bad?"

"Well, if you take it out of context, I suppose it does sound a bit douche-y. But on the other hand, think about what he had been doing, and would continue to do if we hadn't done it. You know the police wouldn't do a thing. It was justice served, and I just so happen to think it was hilarious!"

"Justice isn't supposed to be funny" she huffed. "I have to go back."

Gabriel winced "I know this is going to sound horrible, but I can't let you do that."

"What?" Hermione snapped.

"I thought you understood that. I can't let you go. It would be too dangerous for the both of us. If they capture you, doesn't matter if it's the angels or the demons or the Winchesters, they will torture you."

"So what. There's nothing new about that, and I didn't talk last time."

Gabriel looked crestfallen. "You would rather be tortured than stay around me?"

Hermione sighed. "That's not what I mean. I mean that I have to get back"

"Have to or want to?" Gabriel narrowed his eyes at her.

"I don't know. It's what's expected of me." She looked down

"Expected of you? Seriously? You know, it honestly sounds like you don't really want to, and I think you would like it here. Anything you want, anything you need - we could conjure it up. I promise, everything I create is real."

She looked at him sceptically "And you really think those people would find me?"

Gabriel raised a hand to caress her cheek, but she flinched and he put it down. Instead, he took both her hands in his and pulled her closer, resting her own forehead against hers.

"You know I don't know what you've been through exactly, but I can tell that it's been hell for you. I could read your mind easily, but I'll wait until you want to tell me yourself. All I can tell you, is that you'll be safe with me and free from any expectations. I'll promise you tons of fun, and I'll wait on you hand and foot. Don't tell me it doesn't sound tempting."

Hermione sighed "It does, but I don't know. I can't just up and leave."

"Of course you can."

"But they might need me." she tried

"Nah. They can deal with their own problems"

She giggled "Ron couldn't find his way out of a paper bag. I always help him, he even sends me his auror reports to correct."

"Then, isn't he a bit of a douchebag? You're not his mother, Hermione. Maybe they need to grow up."

She lifted her head, biting her lower lip.

"Maybe you're right. I can't do it forever." She sighed.

"I _am_ right, aren't I? Maybe just send them a note, that you're out travelling or something. Just don't mention any angel-stuff, okay?" He pulled her into an embrace, grinning victoriously.

"This is the most insane thing I have ever done." She laughed.

"Great! Now how about breakfast?" Gabriel snapped his fingers and two trays appeared on nightstands next the bed.

Hermione grinned and slid back under the covers. Gabriel jumped onto the bed, his wings flapping happily behind him.– she could get used to this.

"Um, Gabriel, why is there chocolate sauce on everything?"

"Because it's chocolate sauce, duh. Everyone likes chocolate sauce."

"It's on my eggs and bacon…"

…

Hermione was finishing up the last of the letters. Gabriel had conjured a beautiful desk for her, in mahogany with leaf gold trimming. He was now working on her wardrobe, which she was sure she was going to regret.

Writing the letters had been surprisingly easy. She wrote, that she needed a break, that she needed to find herself after the war, neither of which were lies. She wrote that she was going to travel with a friend, that she would try to be in touch, but would make no promises, as it might be hard for owls to reach her. She promised Harry, she would get a cell phone though. Something she was sure Ron would have difficulty operating.

When she was done, she wanted to ask Gabriel to deliver them for her, but she couldn't go find him, because she was stuck in the small library he had made for her.

"Gabriel!" She yelled instead.

"You hollered" He replied, as he appeared behind her.

"We really need to talk about some doors in this place."

"Huh. You're right. I just never really needed them." He snapped his fingers, and the rooms were finally interconnected.

"Do you think you could deliver these for me? I don't think I can face them."

"No probs, Princess" He winked at her and disappeared in a flurry of wings.

She couldn't help but smile to herself. She decided to make use of the doors, to finally learn the layout of the place. She found the bedroom she had stayed in easily, but realized it was still the only bedroom in the house – she would need to talk to him about that. She also really needed to talk to him about that wardrobe. Everything was there, in fabrics from fine silk, to spandex and canvas, but the common denominator was, that everything was too small and short in all the wrong places, in her own opinion.

She peeked into the underwear drawer only to promptly slam it shut again, blushing profusely. That was a lot of lace. And latex. And leather. And hand-cuffs.

…

Gabriel was fast to deliver the letters, Harry Potter, the Weasleys, the Grangers. He paused, when he came to Ronald Weasley though. He peeked at the letter and a devious smile spread on his face.

He appeared in an empty office, which was filthy beyond belief. Old boxes with what might have been some sort of junk food once, papers strewn on the desk and the floor, even old socks in one corner. He took the dirty clothes of the chair and threw them on the floor, sitting down and put his feet on the desk, kicking down some paper in the process.

It wasn't long before the owner of the office came in, eating the most disgusting sandwich he had ever seen, dressing dripping down his front.

"Wow." He exclaimed "She really wasn't kidding, you really can't find your way out of a plastic bag."

The sloppy redhead looked up, bewildered.

"Hiya big guy. I'm sorry to say, buddy, but she's really not that into you. Now, I'm taking Hermione on a vacation, so stop sending her your homework. Laters." He flicked the letter at the face of the guy he now knew to be Ronald and disappeared with a 'Whoosh'


	5. Chapter 5

After fixing her wardrobe and getting dressed, Hermione continued her exploration. The pantry was atrocious – nothing but candy. Her parents wound be ashamed of her, and she didn't feel like adding shame to the anger they already felt towards her.

She had tried so hard to explain, how she had only wiped their memories to keep them safe, but they didn't understand why she couldn't just run away _with_ them. She had gone to see them straight after the war, at her most malnourished state, with wounds that hadn't even healed. Probably not the best strategic move if she had wanted to convince them she had been perfectly safe.

Now she was finally starting to gain some weight, but she had been adamant on doing it the right way – with lots of vegetables and protein. That, plus a lot of vitamin-supplements to make up for what she hadn't had access to during the war but from what she had seen from his habits, she was sure Gabriel would put an end to her diet in no time.

Thinking of the angel, she heard a flurry of wings behind her.

"Why is it, that you always appear behind me, and not in front?"

"Well Honey, that's for me to know and you not to find out." She could almost hear the smirk in his voice.

He put a hand on her shoulder and turned her around to face him.

"We need to go shopping." She declared to him, pointing at the pantry.

"But I can conjure anything you want." He looked at her confusedly.

"Well, yes, but I prefer to go to a store, to see all the produce, to feel it in my hands and decide for myself, which is the best." She looked at him with those big brown eyes he couldn't resist.

"Jeez, control freak much?" He rolled his eyes and she pouted at him. "Fine! We'll go."

"Yes! I mean, this place is great and all, but I imagine I would get stir-crazy, only staying here all day."

He nodded to himself, biting his lip. "In that case, there's something I need to do, and neither of us are going to like it." She had never seen his face look so serious.

"Like what?" She asked carefully, not sure if she really wanted to know.

"This place is warded completely. I'm the only angel in or out, but out there in the real world, it's not so easy. That means I have to put wards on you." He said carefully.

She looked skeptical. "Wards on me? How would that work?"

"Well, it's a lot of different sigils and writing in Enochian, the language of angels. It would hide you from the angels, so it would be impossible to find you. If we don't do it, they will be able to find you, easily. The most efficient way is carving it into the bones." He sighed, looking none too happy about it.

Hermione looked horrified. "You have to cut into me?!"

"Not exactly, no. I can just touch you and it carves itself, so to speak. It would probably hurt, but I'm not about to take a knife to you or anything. It won't leave any visible scars." He tried to placate her.

She took a deep breath to calm herself. "Do it."

"What, right now?" He looked at her bewildered.

"Yes, get it over with." She closed her eyes, steeling herself.

He pulled her close and put a hand over her heart. She cried out in agony and a lone tear trickled down her cheek. It was worse than he had expected, for the both of them. Luckily it only lasted for about a second, and she was breathing heavily afterwards. Seeing her in pain was horrible, and he could do without seeing that ever again for the rest of his life. He kissed her forehead and released her. She staggered and he supported her as they went into the living room, where they both collapsed on one of the couches.

"I left a loophole in it. Other angels won't be able to find you, but I wrote that you're under my protection, meaning that I will always be able to find you."

She laid down on the couch, putting her legs on Gabriel's lap. "Maybe we wait with shopping till tomorrow?" She suggested, wincing as she moved.

"Sure thing" Gabriel leaned back, snapping his fingers, conjuring the biggest tv-screen she had ever seen on the wall opposite the couch. He snapped his fingers again and a tray of chocolate appeared, hovering an inch above her stomach.

"How are you not ridiculously fat?" She felt the need to ask.

Gabriel shrugged "Archangel metabolism, what can I say? Also, whatever calories you consume in my presence don't count. Except for the ones, you need to get to a proper weight, but after that, you're golden."

After hours of watching television, Gabriel realized Hermione had fallen asleep. He could easily snap his fingers and she would be in bed, but something about her made him feel more like doing things the human way. Like walking places or maybe even cooking stuff. God, she even made him want to go to the grocery store.

She barely even stirred, when he scooped her up and carried her to the bedroom. He used magic to change her into pajamas – he felt she might get upset with him if he tried to do that the human way even if it was _very_ tempting, and then he tucked her in.

They might make it work, he thought as he went back in the living room to watch another movie. Half an hour in, he heard an ear-splitting scream, coming from the bedroom. Screw human ways, he thought as he teleported himself in there, in the blink of an eye.

He frowned, as he realized she was having a nightmare. He went to put a hand on her head, to 'angel' her out of it, but she grabbed his wrist as he came closer. She looked at him with those big brown eyes, and he knew he was done for.

"Stay" She whispered.

He climbed in behind her, holding her close as she fell asleep.

Oh yeah – he would make this work.

…

Over the next weeks, they fell into a sort of routine. Hermione sometimes had nightmares, and on those nights Gabriel would crawl into bed with her, holding her and staying with her through the night. Neither would say anything about it the next day. They both pretended it didn't mean anything. If he wasn't holding Hermione, Gabriel's nights were spent, knocking the high and mighty of their horses and making jerks pay their dues – Archangels don't actually need sleep, after all.

Their days were spent having fun. More often than not, Gabriel would whisk her away to a foreign country, for sightseeing and eating the desserts of the world. Hermione enjoyed those days a lot – Gabriel always had something funny to say about the assumptions that were made on history based on archeological discoveries, or small details to add.

"That is _not_ a flute, I tell you. I'll leave the rest to your imagination."

Sometimes the fun was cut short though – Gabriel spent a lot of time looking over his shoulder, and often he would invent an explanation on why they had to suddenly leave. The reason came up one day, when they were eating ice-cream.

"I think you should get a tattoo" he stated, with the spoon still in his mouth.

"What, like that?" Hermione asked, pointing at a woman bending over, showing off a particularly nasty looking tribal tattoo on her lower back.

"Aw, Hell no. It looks like her ass grew antlers" he shuddered. "No, I was thinking more like the anti-possession kind. I could probably find a bone to carve it into, but you didn't take so kindly to it when I wrote on your ribs."

"Yeah! You're right, tattoo it is – plus, it'll look cool…" she trailed off, when she saw the symbol. "A pentagram? Seriously? Oh god, what are my parents going to say?"

"I don't know. Don't you think dating an archangel might make up for the Satanist symbolism?"

"Sure, it might, if we were actually dating, and you had documentation on _not_ being certifiably insane"

Gabriel stuck his tongue out at her, but they ended up in a tattoo parlor anyways. He held her hand, smirking as she got the tattoo on her right hip.


	6. Chapter 6

Hermione loved staying with Gabriel, even if she would never admit it. Gabriel still went out on his own little vigilante missions, but so far, she had stayed back in protest, not wanting part in the means he felt would justify the end.

It wasn't that she couldn't get his point, but the idealistic part of her mind still believed in the justice system. She was caving in soon though. There were so many jerks in the world, who got away with it because they were technically moving inside the law. Like the head cheerleader, who encouraged bullying or the gold-diggers, and don't even get her started on the animal abusers.

"I know, that you know, that I know, that you don't like what I do, but I found someone I think you're really gonna hate." He said through a mouthful of cookies.

Hermione lifted an eyebrow in response, rather unimpressed with his eating habits.

"Two words – mink farmer"

Her eyes widened "When do we leave?" "Atta girl." He winked at her.

…

"God, it smells!" Hermione gagged as they were hit by the scent of animal feces. Gabriel smirked and booped her on the nose, and her sense of smell was dulled considerably.

"Thanks. Although, it's still disgusting. I know the smell is there, just think about the particles we're inhaling."

"Eew. Way to paint a picture." Gabriel wrinkled his nose

"So, what are we looking for?"

"Don't worry, you'll know it when you see it."

And indeed, she did. There was a farmhouse, where rows upon rows of cages stood, all with mink in them. Down a couple of rows stood a man, beating at one of the cages with a piece of wood.

"Quiet! Ya filthy animal!"

The mink screeched louder and the man spat on them and gave the cage one last hit, before sauntering further down the rows.

"This is horrible" Hermione whispered. Gabriel gave her hand a squeeze. "So, what do you think – skin him alive?" he suggested.

She looked at him, and was horrified, when she realized he was serious.

" _No_! We do _not_ skin people alive! What is _wrong_ with you?" She hissed at him

Gabriel just shrugged, and Hermione wondered how many people he had killed over the years. It was times like these that reminded her, that Gabriel really wasn't human at all, even if both of them seemed to forget it sometimes. That he had lived for millennia, if not billions of years. His conscience was somewhat lost, somewhere in the big picture – luckily, she had conscience to spare.

"Then, what are your great ideas?" He snarked

Hermione smirked deviously, and dammit if Gabriel didn't love that expression on her face.

"Remember first time I met you, I told you I had been transfigured into a cat?"

Gabriel smiled "I like the way you think. Accelerated hair growth – It's a little light for me, but I suppose it could be arranged."

"And then we need to get him into a better way of taking care of the animals, you know, without skinning them. We can't just release them."

"Why not?" He asked bewildered.

"Because they'll destroy the eco-system." She told him in her best professor-voice.

He rolled his eyes, but snapped his fingers anyways. He smirked, when they heard a high-pitched, very girly scream come from the farm house that had now been turned into an animal shelter. The man came running out, and Hermione broke out in laughter, when she saw, that not only was the man naked, he was covered from head to toe in lush brown fur.

...

After that, Hermione went with him almost every time he went out. She told herself it was because she was worried, how many people he might kill if she wasn't with him, but in reality, she was having fun, and seeing the jerks of the world pay their dues, was somewhat cathartic after spending most of her life being bullied and ostracized as a third range citizen.

Some things were harder than others though – Gabriel had to take her back to the house, when she was about to beat up the domestic abuser in person, and he never told her about the child molester he took care of on his own one night. Other than that, they took care of everything from school-yard bullies to corporate CEOs and in between, they discovered the world.

Gabriel added more and more things to the house, like a proper library, a fireplace, a potions lab. He even created a garden in the small pocket universe he had made inside the abandoned warehouse. Over the course of a few months it had become just as much her home as it was his, and just as promised, Gabriel waited on her hand and foot.

She still went to visit her friends and family from time to time, but the visits were fewer and further in between. They all had a hard time understanding, why she had suddenly decided to abandon everything, even her education, to live with who they thought was a random guy, especially since she couldn't really produce a decent backstory.

Ron in particular, had a hard time accepting her move. Moving in with a man she wasn't married to, apparently made her seem 'loose'. That comment had earned him a slap.

The warehouse was situated in a small American town, which Hermione had come to love. She was insisting on living entirely like a human though, which Gabriel on some points found charming (Like baking cookies from scratch) and some idiotic (Like getting a job at a local library). She told him she needed to do something more constructive with her life, that having a job would be important to her sense of self, and that she needed to see other people.

They didn't talk for a couple of days, when she made that decision – the only thing Gabriel seemed to have heard was 'see other people'. She told him he was being a baby and in the end, he caved. He still monopolized most of her time, after all, and he made sure to scare off any male suitor. He wasn't jealous or anything – _definitely_ not jealous and not possessive at all.

She tried to convince him to hunt the people in need of payback away from their town, but then Gabriel said he had a special sense for douche-baggery and that he couldn't help himself when it tingled. Even if she laughed, when Mr. Roberts' hair turned permanently pink, she tried to explain him that he would get them in trouble eventually.

And trouble did come knocking one day. Or rather it came, kicking down the door.


	7. Chapter 7

Gabriel was lounging on the couch with a tray of strawberries on the coffee table. Hermione had been trying to get him to eat healthier, and strawberry was a fruit, right? It definitely counted in his own mind, even if they were covered in chocolate. He was waiting for her to get ready for work, so he could try to persuade her not to go – it never worked, but he had to at least try. At the moment, she was singing along to the music she was listening to in the shower – he was trying very hard not to think about her naked, with water running down that lovely –

Luckily (or unluckily, depending how you look at it), that string for thought was interrupted, when the front door was slammed off its hinges. Gabriel jumped up, knocking over the tray, to look at none other than Dean Winchester, who had just entered the living room, closely followed by his brother Sam.

"Hey! Do you mind?" Gabriel hissed at them. Luckily Hermione had stopped singing. He would prefer if they didn't realize she was there, now he just hoped she would stay put.

"No, I don't, actually." Dean answered, scowling at him. "Nice digs you've got here." Sam whistled lowly, stepping further in to the living room.

"Hey, I hadn't pegged you for the reading type" Dean said, picking up a worn book from the side table "'Potioneering in the 19th century' – a real page turner that must be." He said sarcastically as he fiddled with the book mark.

Gabriel's eyes widened. "You put that down, carefully." He told Dean warningly. Dean threw the book down on the couch, making the archangel wince.

"Seriously, dude? It's a just book." Dean told him. Sam was walking around, studying the pictures on the wall with a frown. He turned around to say something, but was interrupted before he could say anything.

"Gabe? Have you seen my car keys?" A distinctly female voice called out. Dean's eyes bugged and Sam choked.

"Uh, keys are in the kitchen, sweetheart!" Gabriel yelled back at her.

"Sweetheart?" Dean mouthed at him incredulously.

Gabriel closed his eyes, willing her to just summon the keys, leave and _not_ look into the living room. Of course, luck was not on his side

"Ugh! You've made a mess of the hall. You didn't have to break the door, you can just angel your way in, and the boot prints? You're worse than a dog, seriously! Please just tell me you aren't licking your own balls in the living room. Agai-" She stopped short, taking in the 'guests' standing in the living room.

Dean was in shock. When he heard a woman's voice, he hadn't exactly known what to expect. Maybe strippers like last time. Definitely not what came down the small set of stairs. She was young, but she held herself with the grace and dignity of a woman who had been through a lot and was proud to live to tell the tale. She was wearing a light blue button down shirt, a tight black pencil skirt and black pumps that made him think of things he probably shouldn't. It was her face that took his breath away though. She was gorgeous for a lack of better word.

He was literally shaken out of his reverie, by Sam, who had picked up on the way the woman was glaring and Gabriel, who looked like he might smite the both of them at any minute

…

Hermione was furious, but to the surprise of the Winchester brothers she turned on Gabriel.

"Didn't I tell you?!" She hissed. "I told you, that you were going after people too close to home!"

"Well, you should have stopped me!"

"Oh, please, we both know that it really isn't my fault, when you get cocky!"

"Oh, I don't know about that, Honey." He smirked deviously and she rolled her eyes.

"Let me guess; it was the human Ken-doll?" She asked the Winchesters. Dean smiled and nodded sheepishly.

"Come on! He was pressuring teenage girls to get plastic surgery. I'd say he got what was coming to him. Some of my best work too." Gabriel argued.

"Yes, but we _live_ here, Gabriel! You don't piss, where you eat!" She yelled at him.

"Ooh, language, Hermione." Gabriel teased. "What do you two mutton heads want anyways? Help saving the world? Again?"

"You know, you could have just told us you were alive." Sam turned on the puppy dog face.

"And be on your beck and call? Hell no." Gabriel rolled his eyes.

"We searched for you. Cas searched for you."

"Castiel looked for me?" Gabriel asked, unbelievingly.

"You are his brother, after all. And he seemed pretty adamant that you were alive." Sam pointed out.

Gabriel squirmed uncomfortably. "Well yeah. He was right, obviously."

"Yeah, right." Dean snarked. "Anyways, your _dad_ wants to see you."

Hermione raised her eyebrows "Dad, as in –" She pointed upwards.

"Wait a minute – you found him?" Gabriel asked incredulously.

"More like he found us. Also, you should know, that Lucifer's out of his cage." Sam butted in.

Gabriel's eyes widened. " _Lucifer_?" He hissed. "You shitheads let _Lucifer_ out of the cage? Are you insane?"

Sam sighed "Well, technically it was Castiel. And now Lucifer is possessing him"

"What? What the hell would make him want to do that?"

"Well, maybe if another Archangel had stepped to the plate, he wouldn't have felt the need!" Dean thundered.

Gabriel raised his hands in surrender. "I take it our dear Auntie Amara is still on the loose?"

"And killing people as we speak" Sam ground out.

"She's the one you had to lock up, because she tried to eat the world before it began, right?" Hermione asked, trying to wrap her head around the situation.

"No offence, sister, but who are you, even?" Dean turned to ask her.

"You back off" Gabriel growled.

"So, this is where you've been? Shacked up with this – what are you even? Some kind of primordial goddess?"

"Well, I appreciate the compliment, but no. I'm human."

"Huh. Just human?" Dean looked at her skeptically and she rolled her eyes.

"Are the details really that important to what we're doing here?" She asked him.

He narrowed his eyes. "They might be."

"Nope, not those details." Gabriel interrupted. "So, I suppose you wanted me to sign up?"

"Yeah. We need you to come with us." Sam said

"Okay, where are we going?" Hermione asked.

"Oh no, missy. You're staying put." Gabriel told her.

"The hell I am. If _you're_ going, then _I'm_ going." She argued.

"Just a second guys" Gabriel told the Winchesters and snapped his fingers, expelling them to the outside of the building.

Hermione stood, glaring at him.

He sighed. "I can't keep you safe out there. Remember? I just want to keep you safe."

Her glare turned into a reluctant smile. "I can keep myself safe, just fine." She whispered.

"That's not the point." He grumbled, looking at the ground.

"I know. But I'm coming with you, like it or not." She took his hands.

"Fine." He relented and kissed her forehead.

Hermione closed her eyes, savoring the feeling of his lips on her skin. Even such a chaste gesture made her tingle. She still didn't know what to make of him. He could be fun and flirty, but she never knew if he was serious or not. And then there were moments like these, that generally threw her off kilter. She was in big trouble, and she knew it. After all, what would an Archangel want with a human?


	8. Chapter 8

"Now, as I was saying; where are we going?" Hermione asked the brothers, when she and Gabriel joined them outside the building.

"Seriously? Is she serious? She's coming?" Dean asked Gabriel incredulously.

" _She_ is standing right here, and _she_ is as serious as the heart attack you're close to getting." Hermione scowled at Dean.

Gabriel raised his hands placatingly. "Just go with it."

Sam looked at Hermione appreciatively. "We didn't introduce ourselves. I'm – "

"Sam Winchester, yes, and that's Dean, I imagine" Hermione interrupted with a teasing smile.

"And you are?" Sam asked her.

"Hermione" She answered. He kept looking at her expectantly, but she didn't give any more information.

Dean nodded, and gestured silently at the car.

"Do we have to drive?" Gabriel whined. Hermione rolled her eyes as she noticed his wings twitching irritably. "Just get in the car, Gabe." She sighed.

…

The drive was awkward to say the least. Dean kept sneaking glances at Hermione through the rearview mirror. In the end, curiosity got the best of him.

"How old are you?" He asked her.

"I'm twenty." She told him without missing a beat.

"Aren't you a little young to be hanging around this guy?" he frowned.

She smiled amusedly. "I believe old and young are quite relative terms in this context, don't you think? By age, _everyone_ is too young to be hanging around with this guy, as you say." She said, gesturing at Gabriel, who was frowning. "Maturity wise, I believe I might have a little more than the average twenty-something, and I estimate Gabriel to be around fifteen or so, most of the time." She turned around and winked at Gabriel.

Dean pursed his lips, and the car fell silent. Gabriel met Dean's eyes in the rearview mirror and gave him a little eyebrow waggle, just to rile him up. It was a great pastime, really.

He put his arm around Hermione's shoulder and drew her close, burying his nose in her hair. It wasn't until now, as they were sitting in the silence that filled the car, that he realized, that he was on his way, to see his father, who he hadn't seen in millennia. His father, who had a lot to answer for. And then there was Lucifer, who was a whole different can of worms. He would be lying if he said he wasn't nervous.

…

They reached their destination faster than Gabriel had anticipated. Fearsome archangel as he might be, he still held Hermione's hand in an iron grip, careful that he didn't crush her bones.

"Why don't you and little miss jail bait go and find yourselves a room? Then we'll go get some lunch." Dean said I the fakest cheerful tone Hermione had ever heard. She made a face at him, as he and Sam locked them in the bunker to let them explore on their own.

The bunker was much classier, than what Gabriel had come to expect from the brothers.

"This place is beautiful!" Hermione exclaimed. She left him on the mezzanine and ran down the stairs, taking in the décor. She ran a hand along the light table with the world map before sighing happily when she entered the library.

"What we have at home is amazing, but this has style" She winked at Gabriel, who smirked at her.

"I can give you an exact copy, you know that, right?" He asked, leaning against one of the columns, pulling out a candy bar as she crouched to browse the books on the bottom shelves.

"As I said – This place has style, but it isn't home." She looked at him with a gentle smile, and that heart he wasn't supposed to have beat a bit harder again.

He went to a chair and plopped down in it and placed his feet on the table, boots and all. Out of habit, Hermione cast a wandless scourgify. She long since given up on lecturing him about manners.

She had been working on her wandless skills ever since she started living with Gabriel, under his strange tutelage. In the end, he was partially right – power was power and the power didn't come from the wand. She still believed in hard work though she imagined Gabriel had probably forgotten about the concept along the way.

"Ooh! Is that a telescope?" She asked rhetorically, and ran over to check the settings.

That's how the brothers found them. Hermione bent over at the telescope and Gabriel leaning as far back in the chair as he could, to check out her ass.

Dean cleared his throat loudly, making Gabriel fall. Gabriel made a face at Dean and snapped his fingers. In the blink of an eye, he was sitting in another chair looking suave as ever.

"You know how to operate that thing?" Sam asked Hermione curiously.

"Oh yes. I studied astronomy for almost seven years." She smiled at him. "You've got your settings on this all mixed up, but I'll fix it for you."

"So, how did you two even meet?" Dean asked gruffly, opening a pizza box.

Hermione and Gabriel looked at each other in silent communication.

"Well, long story short; I was at a private boarding school in Scotland, when Gabriel showed up. I was bored and he may or may not have kidnapped me, but in the end, I decided to move in with him. These days I work at a library and when I'm not at work, I try to keep this guy from killing too many people." She told the brothers cheerfully. Dean and Sam looked equally disturbed.

Dean was about to say something, when Chuck walked into the room with a large smile on his face. Gabriel stood up straight.

"Gabriel! And I see you found Hermione."

Hermione frowned, less stars struck than she probably ought to be.

The last time Gabriel had seen his dad, he had still been awe inspiring, but now those rose-tinted glasses had been cracked with bitterness and Chuck was far less impressive than God.

Gabriel clenched his jaw.

"Dad."

"It's good to see you, both. Come on, take a seat." Chuck sat down and grabbed a slice of Dean's pizza and took his beer. Hermione went to sit next to Gabriel, who sat grinding his teeth.

"So. _Dad_. Fancy seeing you here."

Chuck sighed. "Gabriel. Can we not? Can't we just eat right now?"

If they had been corporeal, Hermione was sure she would have been knocked over by Gabriel's wings, which were suddenly spread out in display of his anger. She ducked as a reflex, triggering the hunter's reflexes in Sam and Dean, who stood up in the blink of an eye, pointing loaded guns at the exit.

"Put those guns down, there's no threat." Chuck told them.

Dean and Sam looked at Chuck and Hermione bewildered, but slowly sat down, putting away the guns.

"Fine, Gabriel, we'll talk." Chuck sighed and waved a hand, banishing Hermione and the Winchesters to the kitchen.

...

I just want to say thank you all for following and reviewing on this. I'm kind of overwhelmed by the way it's been received so far.

About Gabriel's motivations, to follow the Winchesters:

I believe, that he was probably very tempted to run away again, but didn't, simply because he has a shot at meeting his father. I truly believe, that Gabriel would have looked for God even harder and longer than Castiel, because if anyone could end the fighting, it would have been Dad.

About Amara – Gabriel knows she's out, but he also knows what she is capable of. Locking her away the first time, took the combined power of all four archangels and god himself. He can't just pass it on as someone else's problem. He has to help or the world will go to shit and then Hermione still wouldn't be safe. He would have probably preferred Hermione to stay at home, but I think he knows after months of living together, that she is stubborn like hell and if she wants to go – she's going. There's no argument.

Then there's the part about him still loving his family. Even though the primordial gods literally stabbed him in the heart, he still loved them. I believe it's the same, if not more with his father and brothers, so even if Lucifer 'killed' him and even if God left them, I believe he still hopes for some sort of connection with them.

I'm probably also going to make some one-shots at some point to accompany this story. There's a lot of conversations and other small scenes, that I haven't found a good way to incorporate into this.

Again, thank you and keep reviewing! It really warms my cold dead heart!

Leo


	9. Chapter 9

"Look Gabriel, I'm sorry. You're probably the one I owe the biggest apology to." Chuck started. Gabriel laughed bitterly.

"Yeah? Why is that? I was never anyone special. I was never your favorite, and I wasn't meant to lead, like Michael or Raphael. I was the freaking messenger boy, and the prankster. But then you left, and God wasn't sending out any messages anymore, so I was out of a job. My brothers fought, until my ears bled, and then I left – just like you did."

"You're wrong. You are special, Gabriel. Possibly the most special of the archangels, but you don't see it. Why is that?"

Gabriel snorted. "You really need to ask? You never noticed me, and I never did anything right. No matter what I did. I was even acting properly serious, when I had to tell Mary you had knocked her up. Man, that was awkward."

Chuck winced.

"Maybe you're right, and I'm sorry. I was too blatant in my favoritism of Lucifer and I'm sorry for neglecting you."

Gabriel sighed. "That wasn't the worst part and you know it, dad. You left us with nothing."

Chuck pursed his lips "That's not true. The humans weren't the only ones I created in my image, you know. If you worked together, you archangels would have had the power equivalent to me. You are all powerful in your own right, but each of you represent a part of me. Michael is the governor – the ruler, you might say. Raphael was the thinker, the one to fix things. Lucifer was the destroyer, but you, most importantly are the creator. You create the most amazing things. You can create entirely separate timelines and pocket universes! You are possibly the most special one, because anyone can destroy, anyone can think, anyone can rule – but not that many can create." He pointed out

"You never really approved of what I create, though." Gabriel mumbled, looking down.

"Well, sometimes, you haven't been the most responsible one, but recently, you have created some pretty cool stuff. You've created a home, haven't you?" Chuck smirked, and Gabriel narrowed his eyes at him.

"Speaking of which - I wanted to talk with you, about Hermione. Why can she see my wings? What is she?"

" _Her_? She's your own" He looked at his son expectantly, like he was waiting for him to get the joke.

"Her? My own? What are you… wait a minute. Her name is a pun? You made her name a fucking pun! How sick are you, dad? I mean, seriously!"

Chuck frowned at him. "I've made her for you. I figured she might make you happy."

"You can't just _give_ me a person, dad! I don't want her!" Gabriel yelled.

Chuck lifted an eyebrow at him. "Yeah, you do."

"Not like that. I want her to want me for herself. Not just because you said so. She's not a pet." Gabriel continued more calmly, though still incensed.

Chuck nodded "You know, she still has free will. I'm could easily compel her to you, but I haven't. But if you're serious about wanting her to want you, on her own, you might want to go apologize."

Gabriel looked at him bewildered.

"You were quite loud." Chuck explained

"Just one more thing – she's not an angel."

"No, but in a lot of ways, she is what the angels were supposed to have been. She is strong, but flexible – fierce, yet compassionate. In many ways, she is the best humanity has to offer."

"But why can she see my wings? Only you and the other archangels ever could."

"Because you needed her to see them in order for her to get to know you. _I_ know you. You hide all your emotions and insecurities behind bravado, arrogance and sarcasm – you learned that from Lucifer. But your wings _always_ give you away." Chuck smiled in the way, that fathers smile at their sons. Half proud, half exasperated. It made Gabriel warmer than he had been in eons.

"I'm still totally pissed at you. But thanks for the talk." Gabriel nodded and clapped his father on the shoulder before he went in search of Hermione.

…

"He could at least have sent the pizza with us." Hermione grumbled, when she and the Winchester brothers suddenly found themselves in the kitchen. Dean and Sam were both looking a bit green, and Dean supported himself against the kitchen counter.

"How are you so cool with this?" Sam asked her.

"You have experience with Gabriel, yes? I've lived with him for months now. The surprise tends to wear off." Hermione deflected. From what Gabriel had told her about the Winchesters, they weren't exactly pro witches. She didn't want to tell them she had been dealing with talking hats and moving staircases since she was eleven.

Dean narrowed his eyes at her. "I still don't get how that works."

"Well, it works pretty great. I mean, you saw, where we live and you saw us together, you might even have seen my car out front."

"That's not what I mean, and you know it. Why does a twenty-year-old pretty little thing like you, decide to shack up with a thing like him? From what I can tell, he didn't just conjure you up, and you seem pretty smart too. I just don't get it! Is he like, compelling you into being with him or something?"

Hermione sighed. "We're not together per se. If you must know, I was bored. Then this completely strange man, comes barging into my life, doing things I could barely believe. I mean, I have seen some strange things along the road, but what Gabriel could do was incredible. Of course, I was going to be fascinated. Other than that, our motivations are our own."

Sam had told him, that he was too old for her. That he was being a hypocrite – if Gabriel was too old, then so was he. He knew she was too young for him too, but dammit if he didn't perk up a bit, when she had said they weren't together.

The first thing Dean had thought after hearing that, was; 'Yes! I might still have a shot' the second thing was; 'Damn! What the hell was wrong with Gabriel?' the girl obviously had feelings towards the angel, she was beautiful and smart – why hadn't he made a move? But then again, Dean didn't mind comforting her, he thought with a smirk.

"I was just curious, is all" he smiled at her sheepishly.

"I don't want her!" suddenly reverberated through the entire bunker in Gabriel's voice.

Hermione's heart broke. She hadn't realized how much of it belonged to the strange relationship she had with Gabriel. She gasped, feeling as though she had just received a punch to the gut.

Dean shifted awkwardly. He felt mostly bad about his previous thoughts, but a small part in the back of his head couldn't help but think, that maybe, just maybe, his chances had just gone up.

"If you'll excuse me." Hermione said thickly, as she walked out the door in search of solitude.


	10. Chapter 10

Dean sucked in a breath and followed Hermione, ignoring the look his brother sent him. It was look he was very familiar with – the _'Whatever the hell you think you're doing, don't do it, Dean_ '- bitchface, that Sam had perfected with years of training.

He found her in the lab, studying the gunk that was still on the wall. He gave her a crooked smile. "We had a witch pass through here, a couple of years ago. Our – uh, our friend Charlie ganked her with red stiletto shoes." He told her with his most charming smirk.

Hermione looked at him, horrified.

"And do you uh ' _gank'_ a lot of witches?" She asked him.

"Well, most of the ones we meet. You wouldn't believe the nasty stuff we've seen."

She laughed nervously. "Anyways, this is a very interesting room. What is all this?" She asked him, trying desperately to deflect.

"Oh, well, actually this whole thing is a computer, believe it or not. It's from the 50's, and in the back, I think some things for a lab. There are some jars with weird stuff back there." He gestured vaguely at the shelves in the back.

Hermione went to take a look and was pleasantly surprised.

"Oh! This is shrivelfig! Very old shrivelfig, but still. And bezoars! This is amazing!" She exclaimed

"Uh, what?" Dean looked at her as if she had grown a second head.

"It's just very interesting, is all" Hermione tried to reign in her enthusiasm. "Oh! Was there something you wanted?"

"No, no. I just wanted to check if you were okay, you know." He walked close to her, with his hands in his pockets.

"Uh, yeah. I think I am." She smiled ruefully.

"Hey, if you aren't, that's okay too. Just uh, just don't let it get you down too much, you know."

"You're actually not so bad, Winchester" she mused.

Dean smirked proudly. "Not so bad is probably the best compliment I'm gonna get."

…

After speaking with his father, Gabriel went in search of Hermione. Instead, he found Sam alone in the kitchen.

"I don't think I have to tell you, you're a dick, right?" Sam said dryly.

"You shut your mouth." Gabriel scowled at him

"You don't want her? Why the hell not? I'm pretty sure she's into you, even if I really can't see why." Sam told him, bewildered.

Gabriel growled in frustration. "It's not that I don't want her. It's complicated, alright?"

"Then uncomplicate it."

"It's my dad. He said he _made_ her for me." He sighed.

"Okay? I don't know. That sounds pretty cool to me."

"No, it's not cool! I don't want her to be with me, just because God said so. I want her to choose me on her own. I don't want something based on some _divine intervention_. She means something to me, and I don't want to tie her to me, if she's going to be unhappy. Or worse – be fake happy. That's just creepy. Why am I even telling you this?"

"But isn't it almost like a soul-matey kinda thing?"

"You know, 'a match made in Heaven' might sound charming, but when God is your literal dad, it just gets kind of creepy in an arranged marriage sort of way. Besides, you're right – she is too young for me. By several billion years, in fact."

Sam sighed exasperatedly

"Maybe you should talk to her about it? You should probably do something fast though, if you're serious about her. I know Dean likes her and he's going to try, if he thinks she's free."

"The hell he is." Gabriel growled and went in search of Hermione.

…

He tried not to use the angel warding he had placed on her. After all, it wasn't an emergency. Who was he kidding? He found her in no time, along with Dean the Douche. He cleared his throat as he stepped through the door.

"Hey Dean-o. Your little bro needs you, I think he needs help to tie his shoelaces." He said, sauntering in.

Dean turned around to look at him with a disgruntled expression, making Gabriel want to punch him even more than before. Luckily, Dean left pretty quickly, avoiding the archangel fist that would otherwise be heading his way.

Gabriel shut the door behind him "I think we should talk."

"About what?" Hermione asked with her back turned, suddenly extremely interested in the jars on the shelves.

Gabriel sighed and ran a hand over his face. "I'm not really good at this. You know me by now – I'm not very good at taking things seriously."

"I've noticed. And you don't have to worry. I mean, I know we haven't really talked about any of that stuff, and we only kissed that one time, and I'm always making you eat vegetables and stop you from killing people, I understand that you wouldn't want – "

"But I do" He interrupted her rant, putting a hand on her shoulder and turning her around so she faced him. "I want you _so_ much. But only if you want me too. I don't want you if it's because of some sort of divine intervention, I want it to be your _own_ choices, your _own_ feelings. I couldn't bear it, if you were forced into something you didn't want. _Especially_ because of me." He said gently, letting his hands run down her arms, to grab hers.

"You daft thing" She muttered, when she saw his wings were so droopy, they were basically sweeping the floor. "Don't you understand, that in the end, _everything_ is divine intervention? _You_ are divine intervention. If you live your life, second guessing everything because of your father, then you're not really living at all."

She looked at him, with those favorite chocolate, caramel infused, brown eyes, and he couldn't help himself.

He captured her lips in a kiss, relishing the softness of them. He had kissed her before, a long time ago, and while it had been amazing, it had just been to tease her. This kiss was a different league entirely. Her lips were warm and her body was soft, as he held her tight. When she moaned, a little and opened her mouth for him to explore, he was happy to be an angel, because he was certain, that he would have died if he had been a man. The heart, that he definitely _did_ have, was pounding in his chest, in rhythm with hers.

Hermione's toes were curling in on themselves, and the eagles she had in her stomach from before, were soaring so high, that she was shivering. She felt relaxed, exited and elated, all at the same time. Even if her eyes were closed, she somehow knew, the two of them were enveloped by golden wings, and true enough, the second she opened her eyes, they were surrounded by a shimmering, warm light.

"This is magical." She whispered, leaning her forehead against his.

" _You're_ magical." He murmured, making her snort.

He rolled his eyes "You know, what I mean."

She giggled. "Not entirely, no, but I'll take what I can get."

"You can have it all!" He waggled his eyebrows at her.

"I'll settle for another kiss for now" She smiled at him.

"No, seriously." He told her, now straight faced. "Anything you want, anything you need – you got it."

"That's a song, Gabe."

"Doesn't make it less true!" He smirked at her and drew her close, to kiss her again. This time even more intense. He turned them around, pressing her up against the door, as he let himself drown. She was everywhere, her warmth, her scent and her small moans and sighs, all his senses overloaded.

"Hey! Knock it off!" Dean yelled, banging on the door.

Hermione winced and frowned.

"I take it back, Winchester! You suck!" She yelled back, laughing.

Gabriel grinned widely at her and proceeded to kiss her neck, making her melt again. He could really get used to that.


	11. Chapter 11

Dean wasn't happy. The whole situation was weird to him. He wasn't exactly Gabriel's biggest fan or anything, but the angel had come through for them in the end with the whole apocalypse-business, even if dying had just been a trick. And now they had him in the bunker, along with a pretty little thing he hated himself for being attracted to. The whole deal was winding him up into a tight ball of frustration.

Sam was just trying to understand it. Hermione seemed smart and sweet, if maybe a little hardened, considering her age. She was obviously bossy and seemed to be able to reign Gabriel in, which was a good thing for them. What he didn't understand was, why she would duck, during a relatively normal conversation, and how she could be so cool with the supernatural and all the things happening around Chuck. The story of how they met, sounded fishy as well, and the situation at hand, was delicate enough, without adding any wildcards. She was a distraction to his brother too. He could tell, that Dean was attracted to the girl, but at this point, he supposed his grumpiness could mostly be attributed to it being Gabriel she was with.

…

When Gabriel and Hermione re-entered the library, Dean was scowling and Sam looked pensive.

"No way near it." Gabriel smirked.

"Let's just try to stay civil, shall we?" Hermione sighed

"You know, dad, Sam and Dean said Luci was out too. So, where is he?"

"It's uh. It's a bit hard to explain, but Lucifer is currently in Castiel's vessel." Chuck answered, scratching the back of his head

Gabriel nodded. "And where is Castiel, then?"

"As far as we know, he's in there too." Chuck bit his lip.

"And, where are they? What aren't you telling me?"

Chuck looked down at the floor. "Amara has them."

"Say what again?"

"They're with Amara."

"You mean to tell me, that Luci and Cas, - my brothers are in the clutches of psycho Aunt Amara? And you're sitting around, eating crappy pizza?" Gabriel thundered.

"Well, it might be a trap. Lucifer's obviously got the upper hand in the vessel, and he might make a deal with Amara. It's probably a trap." Chuck defended.

"Probably a tra – Amara has just as much of a beef with Lucifer as she has with you! Even if he tries to strike a deal, there's no way she'll take it!"

"Doesn't matter. She's shielded herself from me. I can't find her." Chuck sighed.

"So, what? You're just giving up? Or is that why you're trying to get the band back together, so we can find your _favorite_ son?" Gabriel yelled.

Chuck looked down.

"I also just want her to spare the universe, you know"

"Unbelievable. I prayed to you every night, you know. That you would come back to me – to us. Not even for my own sake, but for the other angels and the rest of humanity. I was never good enough for you to come back for, but as soon as Lucifer's life is really on the line, you miraculously turn up. You see, I don't buy your shit about saving creation, because when it was Lucifer, who was hell bent on destroying the world, you still did nothing." Gabriel told his father, his voice dripping with resentment.

"That's not true. I told Dean about the cemetery." He pointed at Dean, who raised his hands, clearly not up for being drawn in to the conversation.

"You sent him to his death." Gabriel pointed out

"And you're so much better? You told them about the rings." Chuck retorted

"Yes – so they could put Lucifer back in the cage, to spare humankind. I didn't know Sam was going to take the plunge too!"

Hermione, Sam and Dean sat, feeling incredibly awkward throughout the verbal sparring. And even more awkward, as Gabriel walked out, leaving them alone with freaking God.

Chuck, as he insisted people call him, sighed

"So, go on, ask the questions. What's the purpose of life? What does it all mean? Chicken or egg?" He told Hermione.

"Why did you return? The real answer?"

"As I said – saving the world and all that rot." He said quickly, avoiding eye-contact.

Hermione quirked an eyebrow at him and he sighed.

"Being a parent isn't easy, you know. Imagine having a kid – then imagine having billions of them. They all have questions – demands. The archangels were my sons, truly – my very first creations. The other creations were always more distant. I had favorites, even if I wasn't supposed to. Lucifer was perfect and I showered him with affection, probably too much, because he began to feel entitled. Then, when I gave him the mark, it corrupted him even more, turning his pride into contempt of all other creations, especially human kind. After that, I couldn't bear looking at the other angels – the ones that had felt neglected. It wasn't until then, that I realized, how blind my love for Lucifer had made me towards the other of my creations. I did love them, but I loved Lucifer more. Still do, if I'm honest."

Hermione felt her jaw tensing. The more Chuck was speaking, the more she understood Gabriel's resentment. She had been an only child, but she had seen, what a happy family could be with a lot of children. She was absolutely certain, that Mr. and Mrs. Weasley loved all their children equally. She looked at him with disdain.

"So, you left them feeling even more betrayed and neglected. What about their prayers? Their cries for help? Did you just ignore that?"

"Well, yeah. They needed to grow up. Besides, I do actually answer prayers sometimes. There was once, where this woman prayed to me to make her successful and respected. I turned her into a man." He chuckled.

Hermione had heard enough. Even in retrospect, she would never be able to explain exactly why, but she punched him in the face.

Dean looked at her in awe, but Sam was horrified. Who punches God in the face? He was counting seconds, waiting for the retaliation to come, but it never did.

Chuck looked truly surprised, but was unharmed much to Hermione's frustration. She stormed out, leaving two men and a God staring after her.

She stomped out into the kitchen, where she found Gabriel, putting the final touches on a huge layered chocolate cake. He was stress eating, she knew, but she would let it slide and maybe have a slice, herself.

It wasn't until then, the adrenaline wore off, and she felt the mortification.

"I punched your father in the face" She whispered.

"Come again?" Gabriel quirked an eyebrow at her.

"I punched GOD in the face!" She exclaimed and promptly covered her own mouth with her hand.

Gabriel laughed out loud. The kind of laugh that comes all the way from the belly and shakes your entire body.

After a while of hysterical laughter, he finally came to and took her hand, pulling her closer.

"That is the most amazing thing I have ever heard! Damn, that was cathartic." He chuckled.

At that moment, Sam and Dean entered the kitchen.

"Down with the PDA, please." Sam requested, covering his eyes. Dean grunted in agreement.

"Hey, uh – nice right hook action." Dean smirked, making Hermione hide her face in her hands.

"Listen – We got news, that another town was hit by Amara's fog, but this one guy survived. We're going to go investigate. It's pretty close, so it shouldn't take too long." Sam told them. The boys exited the bunker, leaving Gabriel and Hermione to hide from God.


	12. Chapter 12

Donatello was – eccentric, for a lack of a better word.

"You know, for a prophet of the lord, he's not all that impressive." Hermione told Dean and Sam, when they were alone.

Dean snorted. "Kevin was in ' _advanced placement'_. You'd be surprised at what a nerd can turn into."

"I resent that." She mumbled lowly, making Sam raise an eyebrow.

Gabriel snorted. "If you think that's bad, you should have seen Luke."

Dean snapped his eyes up to look at Gabriel. Sometimes it was hard to imagine that Gabriel, the trickster was the brother of the serious and clueless angel he knew, but then something happened, that made him wonder how much Gabriel and Castiel actually knew each other.

"How were you allowed to take him with you anyways? I can't imagine they were keen on releasing the sole survivor of something that suspiciously looks like a chemical attack. _Especially_ when said survivor happens to be a _chemist_?" Hermione inquired, breaking Dean's thoughts.

"Well, we might have uh – we might have taken him with us as part of a federal investigation." Sam answered, clearing his throat and looking away.

Hermione snorted "Of course you have." She rolled her eyes.

"Right, well you guys can help Donatello get settled in. Sammy and I are going for a drive. We'll bring back some take-out." Dean said, grabbing Sam by his shoulder and marching them out of the bunker.

…

As the day turned to evening, Gabriel created a small movie theatre out of one of the empty rooms. It was easy enough work – usually he would just snap his fingers, and boom! But that night, he put just a little more effort into it, a little more detail and a little more grandeur. He had told himself time and time again, just as when he was younger, that he didn't _need_ to impress his father, that he didn't _need_ his attention, but now that God was back in the game it was clear to him, that hell yes, he did.

They tried to invite Donatello, but the guy was still reeling over the whole 'prophet' business and seemed near catatonic.

Gabriel felt his heart was in his throat, when Chuck entered his little creation. When Chuck looked around, nodding approvingly, Gabriel let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding.

"You're getting better, son!" Chuck remarked.

"Oh this? Pfft. This – this is nothing." He said, trying and failing at nonchalance.

"I know! I can't wait to see your house!" His father beamed at him. Neither Hermione or Gabriel were looking forward to that. Gabriel being self-conscious about daddy's inspection, Hermione being nervous, that Chuck might find some of Gabriel's more risqué wardrobe suggestions for her.

…

Halfway through the action comedy, Dean and Sam returned, looking grim. Chuck pretended not to notice, but Hermione nudged Gabriel with her elbow, making him turn his attention to the brothers. Slowly, they snuck out of the makeshift movie theatre.

Dean was sitting in what they had dubbed 'the war room' with Donatello, who still seemed out of it. Soon, Sam came into the room too, but he wasn't alone.

"You!" Gabriel exclaimed, when Metatron came down the stairs. "You told me you wanted to help Castiel! You told me you needed the horn to _protect_ the angels!" He fumed.

Metatron raised his arms defensively. "Yes, yes, I did do that, but let's let bygones be bygones, I think we have bigger fish to fry."

Gabriel did not like Metatron, at all. He had fooled him once, and not many did that and lived. He would have fried his wings crispy if he could, but Metatron wasn't an angel anymore. He was pathetic, really and in the end, Gabriel couldn't help but pity him. Even if he was still a jackass.

"Okay, what do you want, Metatron?" Dean asked

"I want to help" Metatron sniffed.

"Okay? Besides world-class douchery, what do you have to offer?

"Oh, nothing. I just transcribed the angel tablet and know all the spells. And I know what makes Amara tick. And I had a relationship with the big guy for eons. Shall I keep going?"

And there went Gabriel's sympathy.

"He's got that too." Dean pointed out, gesturing at Gabriel.

Metatron scoffed "You need all the help you can get – even douche help."

Gabriel rolled his eyes so hard, he was afraid he might actually be able to see his own grace. The drama of Metatron was unbelievable. Always had been.

"And since when did you jump on the God wagon? You never used to give a damn." Dean remarked

Metatron sighed "Well, I didn't – at one time. Now that he's gone all kamikaze, leaving us with Darkness. I – I was by his side since the creation. He believed in me. If there's something I can do to help save him and his creation, then uh – it seems like I should."

Dean nodded thoughtfully. "The plan is to rescue Lucifer from Amara. Then he teleports us out of Amara's hideout and we convince Chuck to use him to fight her."

Gabriel scoffed "That's your plan? Do you even know where Amara is?"

"Uh, I think I might know where she is. I've been getting this vibe. It's like a ping in my cerebral cortex." Donatello interrupted, making Hermione raise an eyebrow.

"Great, so either Amara or a stroke" Gabriel snarked.

"And, how are we supposed to keep Amara busy while we're uh – liberating Lucifer?" Hermione asked.

"You leave that part to me." Dean sighed.

Hermione nodded. "So, when do we leave?" she asked. Gabriel narrowed his eyes at her.

"We should talk." He said, grabbing her by the shoulder and zapping them into the room they had chosen for themselves.

"Look, I know what you're going to say, and I know you can look after yourself, and I know what you can do – but those to knuckleheads don't. And I'd prefer it if they found out later, rather than sooner. They aren't exactly the biggest fans of magic." He pointed out, once they were alone.

Hermione tensed. "I could really be of use to you, you know." she ground out.

"I know, but I'm afraid I'll have to insist on this one. My whole point is trying to keep you safe, but there's no way in hell I can do that, if Amara _and_ Lucifer is involved. Once back here, I'm pretty sure dad will figure out a way to neuter Luci, but if _Amara_ got to you, it wouldn't be pretty and I couldn't live with myself if something happened."

She frowned. "And if something happened to you? Am I just supposed to move on? That's not possible, you moron." She punched him lightly in the arm.

"Just humor me on this, Sweetheart." He smiled at her and kissed her deeply, breaking her frown.

Five minutes later, they returned to the kitchen looking disheveled, much to Dean's consternation.

"We leave at dawn. And doll face isn't coming." He grouched

Hermione made a face at him, but for once, didn't argue.

…

The plan was absolutely crazy, in Gabriel's opinion, but then again – It was hard to do anything that wasn't crazy in the particular situation they had found themselves in. Sometimes, taking crazy risks is the only way forward. So, he was sitting in the Impala next to Sam, with Donatello and Metatron in the back, as they drove with neck breaking speed to Amara's hideout.

"Guys, there's some serious warding going on here." He remarked, as they pulled up next to the abandoned warehouse. It was a strange feeling, warding gave. He could walk and talk just fine, but his grace felt heavy and sluggish. He was certain, that it would only get worse as they got closer to Lucifer. The others had no grace, so of course they didn't notice a thing, but to an angel, the feeling was so intense and oppressive, he felt like he almost couldn't breathe – not that he needed to, it was a figure of speech.

The entity that had become both Lucifer and Castiel looked like crap, and their graces looked mangled. To Gabriel it felt like a punch to the gut, seeing two of his brothers so damaged by the hand of their aunt. Like normal, he masked it though. It was what he did best, after all.

He strolled casually into the lion's den, as Metatron ran up to check the spells that were used to bind them.

"Wow. Aunt Amara really got a two-for-one deal with you two, huh?"

Eyes shot up to look at him, and just by that look, Gabriel knew that it was Lucifer in the driver's seat.

"Brother?" He gave a strained smile and scoffed. "I know, I'm pretty far gone, but I never thought I would be the one hallucinating. That's always something I reserve for others. I _killed_ you."

Gabriel snorted. "It was a close call, I'll admit, but I'm afraid you missed."

Lucifer narrowed his eyes. "No, I killed you. I'm sure of it."

"Really sure? Or were you too arrogant to check?"

"Enough talking." Sam interrupted their bickering. "Metatron, are you done soon?"

"Almost there." Metatron spoke up, and continued to mutter spells and incantations.

"Alright, we're obviously busting you out of here, but you've got to know, that it comes with the condition of you working with us to defeat Amara" Sam told Lucifer, who rolled his eyes.

"Obviously, I'm all for taking her out." He coughed.

"Dad's there." Gabriel told him, and Lucifer's eyes shot to him. His jaw tensed.

"It's not like that makes any difference. Bitch is going down either way." He growled, sagging down as Metatron finally found the spell to release him.

Gabriel smiled minutely. "Damn straight."

"Great, let's get going, Gabriel you can get us out of here!" Sam said.

"Didn't you listen to me earlier? The warding here is extreme! We need to get out the way we came!" Gabriel huffed, annoyed, that no one had been listening.

"Guys! She's coming, I can feel her, she's coming!" Donatello yelled frantically.

"Let's go!" Gabriel said, hauling Lucifer to his legs, supporting his weight. It wasn't until they had reached the car, that he noticed Metatron wasn't with them.

"Where's Metatron?" he asked, but Sam just shook his head. Gabriel had half a mind to return, to save the idiot scribe, but if he did, they would all get roasted.

He pushed Lucifer into the backseat of the Impala and barely made it in himself, before Sam was racing out of the place.

They were driving as fast as they could, and were almost out of the warding zone, when seemingly out of nowhere, Amara turned up on the road. Gabriel suddenly felt very small. It was the first time he had seen her since they locked her in the cage, and boy did she look pissed. Just as he was sure he would be reduced to atoms, he thought about his father, mentally apologizing for going behind his back.

Boom!

The Impala landed with a big crash in the middle of the bunker, Hermione standing wide eyed in front of them.

"Oh, God." She whispered.

…

Hey guys! I have to say, I'm really overwhelmingly happy about all the people choosing to follow this story! What I would really love though, is some more reviews. So, if you have some seconds to spare, please let me know what you think!

Lots of love from Leo :)


	13. Chapter 13

"So, we're back. Apparently." Gabriel calmly concluded.

"What happened?!" Donatello screamed frantically. They all left the Impala, Gabriel supporting his brother as they walked up the stairs to where Hermione stood wide-eyed. Gabriel winked at her as they passed, making her roll her eyes.

"He's in the war room." She told them.

Lucifer pushed Gabriel off, to hobble on his own the rest of the way. As they came into the war room, Chuck came in, carrying beer.

"Occasionally, I do answer a prayer." He smiled at them. The smile lost some of its power though, when Lucifer hobbled forward.

"You've changed." Chuck sighed deeply.

" _You've_ changed." Lucifer retorted.

"He's really, pretty much the same." Gabriel butted in. Neither of them paid him any mind, as Chuck healed Lucifer in the blink of an eye.

Lucifer sneered, and pushed his way past Chuck, further into the bunker. Chuck sighed again and threw himself into a chair.

"There's just no winning with him." He mumbled to no one in particular.

Gabriel rolled his eyes at both their antics, and took Hermione's hand, leading her into the kitchen where he conjured up a giant chocolate truffle parfait, which he immediately dug into with gusto.

"This is going to be a nightmare" He groaned at her through a mouthful, making her wrinkle her nose. "Seriously. It's going to be apocalyptic – again." He leaned against the kitchen counter, swinging his spoon aggressively and accidentally showering Hermione in bits of the dessert.

Hermione sighed and got out her own spoon. "Don't you think they just need to talk it out or something?"

Gabriel laughed harshly. "Oh, Honey, you don't know them like I do. Last the two of them met, Lucifer had already fried half the planet."

She raised her eyebrows "But why? I mean, what was the initial conflict?" she asked him.

Gabriel put down his spoon and sighed heavily. "Not something that can be fixed. Luci was dad's favorite as you know, something he was rather obvious about." He started, with no small hint of bitterness. "He was practically _drowned_ in love and affection, so when dad created this new world, with these humans in them, and told us that _they_ were his favorites now, that _we_ needed to bow down to _them_ and protect them, Lucifer threw a fit. I didn't know, that dad had given the Mark of Cain to Lucifer, or what it had done to him. Dad ordered Michael to fight Lucifer and throw him into the cage in hell. By then, Luci was just full of his own jealousy and could only see the flaws of humanity." He finished with a frown.

Hermione shook her head lightly. "There are a lot of wrongdoings, but nothing that can't be fixed with a talk and an apology."

Gabriel nodded, conceding her point before he grabbed her by the waist and kissed her deeply. She broke the kiss, and whispered "Maybe Chuck isn't the only one, who needs to talk with Lucifer."

He made a face at her "I know." He grumbled.

"Just think about it, okay?" She patted his cheek. "I'm going to go browse in the library. I think I saw some transfiguration textbooks before and I want to see if they're legit."

He looked after her with a gentle smile, as she walked out the door. He knew she had a point – they all needed to talk, but she was also too naïve and idealistic. Talking might help, but it couldn't fix everything – that was a hard lesson learned from billions of years of experience.

"Wow." A voice snarked behind him, making him turn around to come face to face to Lucifer. "I mean, first Kali, and now _this_? I suppose she's attractive for a _monkey_ , but still." He drawled, sneering at him.

"Easy now, Luci. I saved you from our dear aunt, I can just as easily gift wrap you and deliver you back on her doorstep." Gabriel narrowed his eyes.

"And it seems you really _care_ about it. Does it do tricks? … play dead?" Lucifer smirked.

"You know, you can talk all you want, but I know dad has you shooting blanks, so don't get ahead of yourself – I still got juice, and so does she, by the way." Gabriel pointed out.

"Ooh, scary. So, it's one of them, is it? You've gone from a shit flinging baboon to a chimpanzee. Big deal – still a monkey." Lucifer pursed his lips.

Gabriel rolled his eyes "You're impossible" he concluded, and turned to leave.

"And what will you do when she dies?" Lucifer called after him, making him turn around, narrowing his eyes.

"What are you implying?" Gabriel growled

"For once I'm not threatening." Lucifer raised his hands placatingly. "Her lifespan is that of a mayfly for us. You're attached to her – what happens to you, when she _inevitably_ dies? You have a heart, and it always made you weak. But now it's going to get crushed, am I right?" He sneered at Gabriel.

Gabriel closed his eyes. He would be lying if he said he hadn't thought about it, but he had always pushed the notion away.

"Maybe I will die with her, then." He whispered to his brother, who stood looking at him wide-eyed.

"You would die for that – that thing? That maggot?" he seethed.

Gabriel sighed exasperatedly "Why is it, that whenever we fight, it's always about humanity?" he groaned, catching Lucifer off guard.

"Because you seem to like those tumors." He told Gabriel as if that should be obvious.

"I just hate the fighting. You know, sometimes, I wish I hadn't gone to earth. To live amongst the humans. Everything was so much easier, when we were just standing around, arguing over an anthill." Gabriel smiled wryly

"Speak for yourself, _brother"_ Lucifer hissed

"You know, in some ways you're right." Gabriel conceded and Lucifer snapped his eyes up.

"Humans are amazing, but some of them are flawed – they can be horrible creatures. They're corrupt, they wage wars, they destroy the world they're inhabiting. But look at yourself – take away your power and your immortality, how are you any different?"

"You need some polish for that halo you're so desperately trying to shine? You haven't exactly been a saint yourself." Lucifer drawled.

Gabriel clenched his jaw. "No, but I'm getting better. I'm trying to be better."

"What? For her?" Lucifer mocked.

Gabriel looked at Lucifer sadly "What happened to you, brother?" He whispered.

Lucifer snorted. "You know exactly what happened."

"I just don't get it. You were the favorite. You could have had everything"

"Yeah? Well guess what – being the favorite isn't all it's cracked up to be. It comes with expectations, and I didn't meet them. I might have been the favorite, but I was also the disappointment no one was supposed to talk about at the dinner table!" Lucifer exploded.

"And you thought that was fun for the rest of us? Why the hell do you think I left? With you and dad both gone, it was all a mad scramble for power and I didn't want it. I didn't want the arguments and I didn't want the badmouthing. You're a dick, but you're still my brother and it kills me that we can't just _get along_. It doesn't have to be like it was before – I just want to not fight." Gabriel groaned in frustration.

"So, what do you propose? A truce?" Lucifer sneered

"Absolutely! I completely agree." Gabriel nodded and promptly left.

"No! Gabriel! It wasn't – I wasn't suggesting it!" Lucifer yelled after him in vain and kicked the table, when he didn't get an answer.

…

"So, uh – how did it go?" Chuck asked Gabriel, when he re-entered the library. "Did you see Amara?"

Gabriel gave his father his best bitchface.

"You're really not going to comment on it? You saw Lucifer's condition! He wouldn't have made it much more, if we hadn't gone for him."

"But I fixed him, didn't I?"

Gabriel scoffed. "Oh yeah, you fixed him right up – he's just peachy keen. Did you think, that maybe he wouldn't have needed fixing, if you had done something sooner?"

"Not going after him was smart! They could easily have made an alliance." Chuck tried to point out.

"But he's your kid! You're not supposed to be smart when it comes to family. Family is supposed to make you stupid! You need to talk with him. Screw if I wasn't the favorite, I'll manage – but he needs you, even if he's being a dick about it."

"Nah, he doesn't need me, not anymore. And why do you take his side?"

"You know what, dad? I don't want to be the guy in the middle again – You guys figure your shit out or I'm leaving." Gabriel sighed, completely exasperated. He ran a hand over his face and turned to the exit.

…

Getting Chuck and Lucifer speaking was harder than Gabriel had expected, and it hurt more than a little, when it turned out that the Wincesters were able to get the two together, when he couldn't. They had set up, what Dean called "Therapy-session" in the library.

"One of you is going to have to first. You know what? Lucifer, you agreed to have a sit down if God would show, so –" Sam started out, as they entered the room.

"And Chuck, you did say you'd talk." Dean pointed out.

"Him first, I'm the one who's owed an explanation." Lucifer pursed his lips. Gabriel rolled his eyes. "Yeah, because you're the only one" He whispered under his breath.

Chuck sighed in aggravation as they all sat down.

"Let's try 'I feel' statements." Dean suggested, looking way too proud of himself. Gabriel felt about ready to shoot himself, and Hermione was just trying to melt in with the books in the background in mortification.

Chuck nodded. "I am sorry? That you feel like I betrayed you and that I acted without cause." Gabriel felt the facepalm coming up.

"I'm sorry that you can't see you gave me no choice." Chuck continued to bury himself, smilingly satisfied. "I'm good"

"You heard that, right?" Lucifer asked.

Sam swallowed nervously "We all know you are God, but maybe, could you be a little less 'Lordly'?"

"But I am – I am the Lord." Chuck said, uncomprehendingly.

"Wow. There he goes" Lucifer said, unimpressed. Gabriel rolled his eyes hard. It had been billions of years, and it was still exactly the same.

"I did what I had to do! To create the world, I had to lock Amara away. And when the Mark corrupted you and I saw you posed a threat to humankind, I did the same with you." Chuck defended.

"No, you betrayed me. You gave me the Mark to lock her away, and when it changed me – when it did what the Mark inevitably does – you threw me away." Lucifer said venomously

"No, son. The Mark – You always cast a jaundiced glance at humans. The Mark didn't change you. It just made you more of what you already were."

"What I was, was your son. Your child."

"Why should I put you first above all others?" Chuck asked, and Gabriel snorted bitterly "You didn't have a problem doing it before" He mumbled under his breath.

"Do you have any idea what it's like to argue with your father, when your father is God?" Lucifer asked the others rhetorically. Gabriel just lifted an eyebrow at his theatrics.

"Everything is a tautology with you." Lucifer continued, this time at Chuck. "Everything is 'Because I told you so." Everything is 'It had to be done.'"

"Pretty sure that's all fathers" Dean mumbled.

"Okay, fine. Big picture, as God. You did what you had to do. But little picture? You sucked at being a dad." Lucifer retorted.

"Okay, maybe I didn't handle everything perfectly. But tell me: could I have kept humankind safe with you on the board? I know about your little bid to replace me with the angels. So, New God – what would you have done about you?" Chuck asked rhetorically.

"That is _not_ the _point_ " Lucifer growled. Gabriel was about to step in to give his brother some support, but it came instead from an unexpected angle

"I – I can't believe I'm actually about to say this, but Lucifer is right." Sam said. "All he wants is an apology, and you're too concerned about being right to give him one. But apologies aren't always about being right. Sometimes they're just about apologizing."

"Yeah, and the great thing about apologies is you don't even have to mean them. You know, I lie and tell Sam I'm sorry all the time." Dean felt the need to add, making Gabriel want to strangle him even more than before. Hermione was hiding her face in her hands in sympathetic mortification.

Chuck scowled at them "Enough from the peanut gallery." He said and waved his hand, banishing them to the mezzanine.

"Again?" Hermione huffed. Gabriel was slightly surprised to be banished along with the others, but in the end, he figured it was probably for the best. His own bitterness should really stay off the commentaries section.

…

Hi guys! I haven't had much time lately, but I finally managed to put this together. I hope you enjoyed a slightly longer chapter from me. I promise Hermione is going to get back in the game (I know she's been a bit inactive)

Please leave a review!

Love from Leo


	14. Chapter 14

Gabriel sighed in relief when his brother and father came out smiling. He was bitter and a bit jealous yeah, but the world was supposed to be more important than his hurt feelings.

"Great. So, what now?" He asked.

"We trap Amara, put her back in the box." Chuck smiled ruefully.

"Wait, what?" Dean said, obviously disagreeing.

"You're right, she needs to be destroyed – but I won't kill her." Chuck sighed.

"Why the hell not?"

"Amara's been caged for billions of years, but she was always there. She had to be there. You know – yin and yang, dark and light."

"English Chuck" Dean growled.

Chuck huffed, but to their surprise it was Hermione who answered.

"There is a certain balance in the universe. There can't be light without the dark or dark without the light. They cancel each other out. If you destroy one, the balance will be ruined and everything would – " She searched for words.

"It wouldn't be a good thing" Lucifer glared at her.

"It really wouldn't be good. Like 'end of reality' not good." Chuck finished.

"Okay, so we gift-wrap Amara. I mean, we got the team back together, so – "

"Not quite. We're still a few members short of the original line-up." Chuck grumbled.

"Yeah, first time, it took the combined strength of the archangels before dad finished her off" Gabriel pointed out.

"Even then it was close. Now, with just us, we'll lose." Chuck continued, sighing.

"I'm afraid Michael might be indisposed" Lucifer winced.

"And Castiel killed Raffie." Gabriel wrinkled his nose.

"Well, can't you just bring them back? Like you brought Castiel back?" Sam asked.

"No. Archangels are different, it would take time that we don't have." Chuck shook his head

"So, what do we need?" Dean asked.

"What've we got?" Chuck looked pointedly at Gabriel and Hermione, but Gabriel shook his head imperceptibly and Chuck nodded.

"We could look for more Hands of God?" Sam suggested. Gabriel gave him a deadpan look.

"A little redundant" Chuck answered, waving his hands.

"What about Crowley. Demon power? King of Hell?" Dean suggested.

Lucifer rolled his eyes. "You want to bring your ex-boyfriend in?"

Chuck sighed. "I don't like it, but you have a point. He does have some juice."

"We also have the angels." Lucifer pointed out. Chuck winced. "Don't worry dad, you don't have to deal with them."

"And you think they'll listen to you?" Dean pointed out.

"Maybe not. But they'll probably listen to him." Lucifer pointed at Gabriel, who sighed in defeat.

Chuck nodded.

"Then there's Rowena. I mean, she's a snake, but she's a powerful witch." Sam proposed.

Hermione's eyes widened and she gulped. "I thought you didn't work with witches."

Sam made a face "We don't generally, but we've been kind of forced to. She's powerful and she's got this book – the Book of the Damned."

Hermione's blood ran cold. She had heard of the Book of the Damned – She was an academic after all, and what she had heard about it made "Secrets of the Darkest Arts" and "Magick Moste Evile" seem like children's fairytales, including the instructions on making a horcrux.

"I don't like the sound of her."

"You're willing to work with a demon, but not a witch?" Dean scrunched his eyebrows at her in confusion.

"No, that's not it. It's just, that I've heard of that book." She raised her hands placatingly.

"Well, it _is_ kinda gross." Sam conceded. "She's actually Crowley's mother and she – "

"But I thought it took centuries to turn a human into a demon." She interrupted.

"You'd be surprised." Dean mumbled to himself, looking at the floor.

"She's old, but don't say that to her face. She's from the 17th century, Scotland. She claims to be born with magic, but the witches we generally deal with, make deals with demons for their power. So far, what we've seen, she can't die." Sam continued.

"Yeah, I snapped her neck myself." Lucifer said nonchalantly.

Hermione felt sick to her stomach, and not because of Lucifer's flippant remark. Everything in her mind screamed horcrux, and Scotland was a little too close to home. Gabriel seemed to sense her distress and took her hand, squeezing it.

"Anyways, getting these groups to enlist and work together isn't going to be easy." Sam pointed out.

"Couldn't you just compel them?" Dean asked, and Hermione looked at him horrified.

"I invented free will for a reason." Chuck argued.

"So, we're tying our hands, on principle." Dean made a face. Hermione was just about to give him a piece of her mind, but Chuck came first.

"No, you can't make an effective soldier by force. They have to choose this fight." Hermione looked at him incredulously. Damn straight, she would tie her hands, on principle and not efficiency.

"They're going to want to know they're backing a winner."

"So, we play the God-card. We assemble our band of brothers, hit Amara with everything we've got. Then when she's weak – "

"I finish her off." Chuck finished.

"We might want to move base though." Gabriel pointed out. "The warding on this place makes it harder to work any sort of power. It's possible to do small stuff, but we're going to want to be on full capacity."

Lucifer nodded. "You have a point."

Hermione sighed. She was very tempted to give Harry a call. Some wizards would be good for backup, but the question would be if they could get people assembled with such a short notice. Then again, working with demons and dark witches might not be high on the wizarding community to-do list after just coming out of a war. Best case scenario, she would be called insane and thrown in Azkaban for collaborating with Rowena. She had really become more pragmatic – sometimes the end _did_ justify the means, even if she wasn't down with mind control.

…

As Sam, Dean and Hermione looked for a proper setting for the stand-off, Lucifer went to heaven, where he was immediately surrounded by angels.

"And here I thought I had made real inroads with you guys."

"You thought wrong, Serpent." An angel hissed at him.

"Serpent?" Lucifer mouthed incredulously.

"We loathe you. We'll always loathe you."

"I came here to ask a good-faith favor of you guys, but as you are clearly less than kindly disposed, perhaps you'll listen to this guy?"

Gabriel, took this as his cue, and appeared around the corner.

"Hi guys! Long time no see." He waved at then cheerfully

The angels stood, dumbstruck, looking at Gabriel.

"But you – you were killed. By him." An angel stuttered, pointing at Lucifer.

Gabriel shrugged "Yeah well, it didn't take. Thing is, we need your help. I imagine you've watched the news?"

"The Darkness" the angel shuddered

"I'll take that as a yes. Now who would you rather work with? Him or Amara?" Gabriel smiled at them, waggling his eyebrows.

Lucifer smirked. Even if the angels were conflicted, they were on board and they all knew it.

…

After driving around for what seemed like forever to Hermione, they finally found an abandoned power plant, that reminded Hermione of the home she shared with Gabriel. She missed the comforts of the library and her little garden and now she wondered if she would even ever see it again. It hit her, that she might not survive, but then again, when had she ever not been fighting for her life?

"You wanna remind me again, why you're here and not stashed away somewhere safe?" Dean grumbled.

"Because we need all hands on deck." Lucifer smirked, as he and Gabriel entered. Gabriel made a face at him.

"Hello boys" A gravelly voice interrupted from a corner. "And girl apparently. Enchanté"

When the boys had said 'demon' she wasn't sure what she had expected, but a bearded man in a black suit wasn't it.

"I suppose you must be Mr. Crowley then." She addressed him.

"Perfect English! And who might you be then?" Crowley smirked in a way she imagined he wanted to be seductive, but he just managed to creep her out.

"None of your concern." Gabriel ground out.

Hermione was about to put in her two cents, when the door opened and a woman entered. She was looking extravagant, with her long cobalt blue, glittery gown and her bright red hair perfectly coiffed. It made her look down and wrinkle her nose at her own jeans and jacket.

When the woman looked up, her eyes widened.

"I just don't feel comfortable with a civilian in the mix." Dean continued the previous conversation.

The woman started laughing hysterically. "You think she's a civilian? Whatever do you need me for? You've got a bleedin' war hero on your hands!"

Gabriel looked ready to murder her, and the others looked perplexed.

"Well, just because I'm an outlaw doesn't mean I don't get the news. I'm Rowena, my dear." Rowena smiled saccharinely and went to take Hermione's hand. Hermione however narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms.

"I've heard of you." She said measuredly as they circled each other.

"Then you know I'm a formidable witch. I singlehandedly destroyed the Grand Coven." Rowena pursed her lips.

Hermione snorted. "From what I've heard, that can't have been hard. The Grand Coven was disbanded in 1692 in favor of the Wizengamot because they used dark magic and stood against the enforcement of the International Statute of Secrecy that was signed three years previously. After that, they lost their influence and became a sort of secret society I suppose. Blood supremacists too, so I suppose it is a favor that you 'destroyed' the Grand Coven, but it's hardly impressive."

Rowena smirked "Indeed. I didn't defeat any Dark Lords."

"What the hell is going on?" Dean finally exploded after recovering from shock. "You know Hermione? How?"

"Well, well, Dean my boy. It seems the girl has been holding out on you. It's not often I'm on this side of the accusation, but she is a witch!" Rowena arched her arm to point at Hermione, who rolled her eyes.

"Yes, I'm a witch, but I'm a good one." She told them without the drama that Rowena was obviously fond of, ignoring Gabriel, who was continuously moving closer.

"Yeah, and I'm Chinese." Dean deadpanned, raising his gun.

Rowena sneered. "She's actually telling the truth – how disappointing as it may be. Witches and wizards were recently at war, and a couple of years ago it came a head, with girlie there on the front lines. What did they call you? The Brains of the Golden Trio?"

Hermione's face reddened. "Really, I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to help." She raised her hands, but Dean wasn't lowering the gun.

Gabriel narrowed his eyes at him.

"You put that peashooter down, right now" He growled.

"Uh, maybe you should listen to them, Dean. I mean, would god approve of her if she was evil? He is kinda rooting for their relationship." Sam interrupted.

Dean huffed, but put down the gun "I don't like it" He ground out.

Suddenly, flash of light illuminated the room, and Chuck appeared.

"Hello, my children" He said imperiously. Gabriel rolled his eyes in proper teenage fashion, unimpressed with his father's antics. Hermione nudged him with her elbow.

"Him?" Crowley asked incredulously

"Rowena. Crowley. It's good to finally meet you in person!" Chuck smiled at them.

Rowena winced "Sorry about, well, everything I've ever done in my life. Really, y-you can't have been a fan." She stammered.

"Oh yeah, I've been quietly rooting against you both for some time now." He answered flippantly "Although, I can't deny you're one of my guilty pleasures" He winked at her.

"Oh, God" She replied fake bashfully.

"Oh, God" Crowley sighed in exasperation.

…

Hey you guys! Thanks for reading so far! I hope you enjoyed this chapter – Please leave me a review to let me know what you think! It makes me really happy, even if it's just to say hi.

Until next time

Love from Leo


	15. Chapter 15

As everyone was busy catching up, Hermione stood, observing Lucifer. She had a hard time consolidating the image of the devil with the entity in front of her. Sure, with the arrogant tilt of his head and the disdain he regarded her with, he looked like a right bastard, but she wasn't sure if he was the evil incarnate she had expected. She had seen plenty of evil, but Lucifer didn't have the cold dead eyes of Voldemort or Bellatrix.

He was spiteful, bitter and mean, but not necessarily evil.

"What are you looking at, maggot?" he sneered at her.

Hermione rolled her eyes and looked away, but Lucifer persisted.

"So much cheek from such a low life-form. I wonder, sometimes how you apes even function." He stepped closer to her, regarding her with something close to curiosity. "But then again – you don't really, do you?" sneered.

Hermione sighed heavily and slowly turned her head, looking at him with as much contempt as she could muster. "Are you done?" She asked him calmly.

He walked ever closer, and whispered, so only she could hear him. "You know, when dad takes off my leash, Amara won't be first on my list. You'll be a pile of ash on the floor, where you belong."

She would never admit it, but she was rattled, but the defiance she had been born with in plenty reared its head and she squared her shoulders and narrowed her eyes at him.

"I have had just about enough of people, who think they're better than me. In the end, that's all you are – you might be an angel, but you're still just like the rest of them. Just people. I mean, how you manage to be a powerful immortal entity and still be a petty little child is beyond me, but you really do it quite well." She told him derisively.

Lucifer ground his teeth and stomped over to Gabriel.

"Control your pest, brother!" He growled.

Gabriel turned around, smirking. "Why? She put you in your place?" He asked him, now smiling widely. His smile lost some of its luster though, when he caught the eyes of Hermione. She smiled at him, and rolled her eyes, but he could see through her – she was worried.

Lucifer scoffed. "I'll never understand why you feel the need to roll around in the garbage."

Gabriel smirked at him "Dad likes her"

Lucifer made a face "And that's supposed to sell her?"

Gabriel snorted "Obviously not. I'm just saying that there's more to her than meets the eye. You might even like her."

"Don't be an idiot, brother. It's a human – a disease!"

Gabriel rolled his eyes hard "Don't then. Your loss. I have to tell you though, that out of everyone in this room, including myself, she might be the only one you could win some sympathy with."

Dean was just about fed up with the bickering. Hermione being a witch had really caught him off guard, and if there was something Dean Winchester hated – it was being caught off guard. He told himself, that he had known there was something fishy going on from the moment he laid his eyes on her, but that was a lie. Sure, he had had his suspicions, but she had seemed so small and harmless. And hot. He wasn't usually that distracted by a pretty face, but she had gotten the best of him, and he hated it.

"Alright, enough with the fighting!" He interrupted, as another argument started up, between Crowley and his mother, who still attempted to flirt with Chuck.

"Yeah, and no deals either. No talks of who is owed what if we survive this." Sam supplied.

"No one likes each other – It doesn't matter. We only have the fight ahead." Dean nodded.

"Amara's looking for me, but I'm warded against her, for now. The second I drop the warding, she'll show. She'll be expecting a fight, and we'll give it to her. Shock and awe. Shock and awe! Your troops are in position?" Chuck asked imperiously, the first show of leadership Hermione had seen from him. R

owena was standing next to her, shifting her weight from one foot to another, wringing her hands. Eventually she raised one of them, unexpectedly.

Chuck cleared his throat, having been caught off guard. "Yes, Rowena?"

"Fabulous plan, God." She simpered "But doesn't this strike anyone as a wee bit un-strategic? Shouldn't we at least try to catch her off guard?"

There was a Slytherin if Hermione ever saw one. "I honestly doubt it will be possible to catch her completely off guard. After all, she is equal to God in power." She pitched in.

Rowena scowled at her, obviously not in agreement.

"Is that sequence set in stone? Demon, angel, witch power? Seems to me that the first response should come from the most disposable force." Crowley argued.

"Right! Good argument, Doggie. Demons first it is." Lucifer proclaimed cheerfully. Hermione couldn't help the chuckle escaping her lips, and Lucifer narrowed his eyes at her. She only lifted an eyebrow in return.

"The weakest should go first. Naturally, that means the witches." Crowley continued.

Both Rowena and Hermione looked at him, outraged. "Excuse you!" Hermione broke out.

"Enough" Sam interrupted, but Hermione kept scowling at Crowley. She disliked the slime ball more and more with each passing minute.

"After that, it's Lucifer and Gabriel's turn. Physical attack." Chuck sighed and looked to his sons, who both nodded.

"What about Cas?" Dean interrupted.

"Oh, don't worry. Your pet's safety is my highest concern." Lucifer mocked.

Dean glared at him, and practically growled.

Lucifer rolled his eyes "Trust me, he's on board."

After that, they broke into their own side arguments. Sam and Dean looked to have a small family drama, and the others discussed strategy.

"Demons will be our strength" Crowley pushed

"I'm just saying, angels can actually hurt her. It's worked before." Lucifer countered.

"If you call giving Amara a mild case of the pukes working. How are _you_ planning on getting killed, _mother_?" Crowley asked Rowena pleasantly.

She huffed impatiently "We're trying to disorientate her as much as hurt her. You underestimate witchcraft, Fergus, always have."

"Fergus?" Hermione mouthed incredulously.

"If anything, she's inoculated. Full-scale demon attack. That's our X-factor." Crowley insisted proudly.

"Wait, what did the angels attack her with?" Hermione asked Lucifer, who wrinkled his nose.

"Light, I'd imagine. She is 'The Darkness' after all." He replied, feigning boredom.

Hermione nodded her head thoughtfully. "Rowena, what do you know about the Patronus-charm?"

"That it's pretty?" She shrugged, confused.

Hermione looked at her, exasperated. "It's light magic, in its purest form. If we could hit her with that, together, I'm sure it would make an impact."

Rowena winced "Sorry my love. Light and pure isn't exactly what I do."

Hermione pinched her nose and sighed. "Then what do you have in mind?"

Rowena smiled deviously, and Hermione was fast regretting to have asked.

"I have here, the Book of the Damned!" She exclaimed with more excitement than anyone was allowed, when talking about an object made of a dead person's skin, as she summoned the book.

Hermione cringed, but couldn't help but stare at the book in morbid curiosity. The sheer power emanating from it was staggering and made her slightly nauseous. Rowena held out the book for her to take, but she hesitated. Just looking at it felt forbidden, but actually _touching_ the thing, made her feel like it would somehow taint her. In the end curiosity won, and she weighed the book in her hand, feeling a want to destroy the thing.

"It's indestructible" Rowena told her proudly, as if she was reading her mind.

"Oh, I've destroyed an indestructible thing or two in my time" Hermione retorted. Rowena narrowed her eyes at her and looked at her, as if measuring her up.

"I have to admit, you seem stronger than the meek little girl in the Prophet." She pursed her lips.

Hermione laughed out loud. "I don't go for the glory." She smiled at Rowena.

"No, but not out of the goodness of your heart either, am I right? You want to prove yourself to be better – the best in fact. I can help you with that." She told Hermione slyly, circling her.

Hermione huffed a breath as she traced the corners of the book. "You're not wrong." She confessed. Rowena lighted up and smiled like the cat who got the canary.

"I rarely am, my dear." She nodded sagely.

"I _did_ have something to prove. I don't anymore though. I showed them that a muggleborn could have as much power as any pureblood, so I don't actually have anything to prove anymore." Hermione mused.

"Aye, child. You did show them, but we both know that sooner or later the fat aristocracy is going to corrupt the government again. Then what will you do? You'll need allies. Join my coven and then we can really show them!" Rowena gushed

Hermione raised an eyebrow at her. "You really think I would do that? Seriously? After all I've fought for, obviously, I'm not going into dark magic. What's going to happen is this: We'll defeat Amara, and afterwards, this book will be destroyed – don't worry, I have my ways. As for you, I know what's keeping you alive. I'll let you live, but only as long as you keep your nose clean. If I so much as smell your repulsive perfume, I will hunt you down and kill you. Don't think I don't have the manpower." She threatened.

Rowena took a step back, and put a hand on her chest in mock distress "You hurt me so. You think as low of me, when I'm really just so misunderstood." She looked at Hermione with a puppy-dog expression, that Hermione was unfazed by.

"This is a one-time deal. I could just as easily kill you along with the book, if you'd rather prefer that."

Rowena's face soured. "Fine. Be like that, girlie, but it might bite you in the arse." She growled at her as she swayed out the door.

Hermione rolled her eyes and sighed. She could feel the tension start building up as was inevitable before a battle. The tension wasn't helped by the book in her hands, that seemed to have an evil conscience of its own. She opened to study the lettering, but it was obviously written in an intricate code. Part of her couldn't wait to see it disintegrated, but another part of her wanted to dig out her old arithmancy and ancient runes text books to start cracking the code and unlock the secrets. Some secrets weren't supposed to be revealed though.

She was broken out of her musings, when a pair of arms reached out and embraced her from behind. She smiled, as Gabriel kissed her hair.

"That thing's disgusting." He remarked. "Did you disinfect it?"

Hermione snorted. "I doubt any sort of cleaning product can manage this." She dug out her trusty old beaded bag, and put it in there for safe-keeping, when suddenly the relative peace was interrupted by Rowena's voice reverberating through the powerplant

" _Attenuare!_ "

"She started without me?" Hermione asked incredulously and ran towards the door.

"Expecto Patronum!" She yelled, thinking of Gabriel as she ran outside.

She smiled widely at the sight of her familiar otter. It made more sense now. The freedom, the playfulness and the carefree nature of the animal that had followed her since fifth year, matched her silly angel perfectly in spirit.

The otter patronus shone brighter than she had ever seen it, as it swam through the air, around a confused looking woman clad in black. Rowena lay sprawled, panting on the ground and Hermione went to help her up.

"Who the hell are you?" The woman, Hermione assumed to be Amara asked.

"A concerned citizen you might say." Hermione smiled at her pleasantly and nodded.

The otter patronus that had been circling the woman suddenly charged, going straight into her chest. Amara's eyes widened, and she gasped, as if she had been dunked in ice cold water and Hermione took that as a cue to grab Rowena and run inside.

They got in not a moment too soon. As the door shut, the entire earth shook with the impact from the angels' collective smiting. A bright light shone through the small windows and the ceiling cracked. Afterwards everything went dark and Hermione saw black smoky streaks shoot across the sky, towards the point where she knew Amara to be. They sent shivers down her spine, reminding her too much of the Death Eaters. She looked up in curiosity, as Crowley started towards the door. He went outside, and spewed out the same kind of smoke, only blood red in color.

When Amara finally stumbled through the door, she was broken, burned and dirty. She scowled, finding the eyes of Chuck

"Hello, brother" She growled. "You cheated. Again. But –" Her sentence was cut off, when Lucifer stabbed her from behind.

Gabriel looked conflicted. He had his own angel blade in hand, but he hesitated, and when Lucifer was poised to strike again, he caught his arm. Lucifer wrenched out of Gabriel's grip, with a look of betrayal and confusion. He raised his blade to strike again, but Chuck raised a hand, looking at both his sons. Lucifer pursed his lips, looking at Gabriel, who shrugged.

"I'm sorry for this, for everything" Chuck apologized to his sister.

"An apology at last. What's sorry to me? I spent millions of years crammed into that cage alone and afraid, wishing, begging for death because of you! And what was my crime brother?"

Gabriel looked down. He knew what had been at stake, but that didn't mean he didn't sympathize with his aunt, who indeed had spent millennia in a padded cell. It really was no wonder she didn't know how to act. He stepped back, standing next to Hermione to watch the scene unfold.

"The world needed to be born! And you wouldn't let me! Amara, you gave me no choice." Chuck implored her.

"That's your story, not mine. The real reason you banished me, why I couldn't be allowed to exist was that you couldn't stand it. Yeah, we're equals. We weren't great or powerful because we stood only in relation to each other. You think you made the archangels to bring light? No. You made them to create lesser beings to make you large. To make you Lord. It was ego! You wanted to be big!" She scorned, standing up.

Chuck nodded slightly. "That's true" He admitted "But it isn't the whole truth. There's a value, a glory in creation that's greater and truer than my pride or my ego. Call it grace, call it being – Whatever it is, it didn't come from my hands. It was there waiting to be born. It just is, as you and I just were. Since you've been freed, I know you've seen it. Felt it." He argued.

"It didn't have to be like this. I loved you, brother." She hissed in disbelief. She chuckled pathetically. "Well, you've won again. Finish it. Kill me"

Hermione's heart broke for the creature before her. She couldn't imagine how it would be, but she knew desperation when she saw it, and she knew the outcome was worse than death for Amara. Chuck stood, close to tears, and when Amara started her panicked pleading, Hermione had to turn around and bury her face in Gabriel's shoulder.

"No. No! NO!" She screamed, as the mark burned off her.

"I'm so sorry" Chuck said, but to no use.

"No! Not again!" Amara yelled and choked Chuck, pushing him far off the ground. Lucifer tried to attack her from behind, but Amara banished him, sending him flying into a pillar.

"Goodbye nephew" she hissed, as she ripped Lucifer from the vessel.

"I'd die a million times and murder you a million more before going back there! Tell me, if you won't change then, why should I?" She turned back to Chuck.

Gabriel watched in horror, as black smoke curled out and stabbed through his father, creating large tears, where light was pouring out. It got too bright to watch, and suddenly Chuck dumped to the ground.

"Amara, what have you done?" Dean gasped.

"Is he – is he dead?" Gabriel whispered.

"No. But he is dying." Amara responded. "My brother will dim and fade away into nothing, but not until he sees what comes next. Not until he watches this world, everything he created, everything he loves turn to ash. Welcome to the end." She looked at them, unhinged before she disappeared and Gabriel's stomach dropped. An announcement like that was rarely followed by rainbows and cupcakes.


	16. Chapter 16

For several seconds everyone stood, frozen in shock. Then Gabriel ran to his father and dropped to his knees.

"Dad?" He whispered. He sounded devastated, but what broke Hermione's heart more, were the wings that were hanging limply from his back, lying flat on the floor. She went over to him and put a hand on his shoulder in support.

Dean walked over to the prone form, that had been Lucifer only minutes before. He put a hand on his shoulder to check on him.

The figure in the trench coat sucked in a breath "Dean?" He asked in a gravelly voice, that sounded nothing like Lucifer.

"Cas? Hey, is that you?" Dean asked hopefully.

The angel frowned "Lucifer is gone. Amara ripped him from my body."

"To where?" Dean asked worriedly.

"I don't know." Dean helped him up, and they moved closer to the others, sitting around Chuck.

"Hey, can you hear me?" Sam asked. Chuck groaned and tried rolling over.

"Here we go." Hermione mumbled and helped him to a sitting position.

Gabriel bit his lip. "How do you feel?"

Chuck winced. "You know, when you're driving and a bug hits your windshield? – I'm the bug."

Gabriel frowned.

"So, what Amara said about you..." Sam started.

"Dying? Yeah, whatever she did to me, I can feel my spark, my light fading. And when it's gone…"

"Okay, well. Tell us how to fix you." Gabriel sniffled, sounding more like a scared little boy than he ever had.

Chuck looked at him sadly. "I'm sorry son, but you can't. Amara might be able to, but that's not going to happen."

Castiel went behind them and put a hand on Gabriel's other shoulder. Gabriel turned his head and rose to his feet, embracing him in a tight hug. They clapped each other's backs before Gabriel released him. Sam tried to help Chuck to a standing position, but God only slumped against him.

Rowena, who had stood, looking out the broken windows of the power plant they were occupying, cleared her throat. "Uh, boys?"

She was interrupted by her son, who appeared, seemingly out of nowhere.

"Well, that was a complete and utter dog's breakfast, wasn't it?"

The angel that Hermione had now identified as Castiel frowned "I didn't know dogs had breakfast." He stated confusedly.

"Cas is back." Dean stated unnecessarily. Gabriel looked at his clueless brother with a fond smile, and Hermione was trying to keep from laughing at an obviously serious time, but couldn't help the amused smile that fought its way to her lips.

"Just curious – Has anyone bothered to look outside?" Rowena snarked.

Everyone went outside in dread of what they might find. Looking up, they saw the sky had taking an orange hue, looking as if it was on fire. The sun itself looked sick.

"What is it?" Dean asked confusedly.

Bewildered himself, Sam replied. "It looks like the sun is –"

"Dying" Hermione interrupted in a small voice.

"Why would Amara do that?" Sam asked.

"The sun is the source of all life, here on Earth. Without it, everything just wastes away." She continued in the same voice.

Hermione had never felt so ashamed. She had failed, but this time, the stakes had been higher. She had been arrogant, thinking they could take on Amara. She should have called Harry, as soon as she heard about the threat Amara posed. Now the bloody sun was dying, and the world along with it and it was all her fault.

Gabriel drew her in for a hug, and it wasn't until he released her and she saw his wet shirt, that she realized she was crying.

"Let's get the hell out of here" Dean said, but before he could finish his sentence, they were all back in the Bunker already.

Everyone glanced around confusedly, and Crowley narrowed his eyes. "You" He pointed at Chuck, who was still being held up by Sam.

"I've still got a few tricks up my sleeve. I'm not dead ye –" Chuck tried standing straighter, but almost collapsed. Sam helped him to a place he could sit down.

"Well, what do we do now?" Castiel asked.

Everyone looked to each other, but Dean walked away. Sam followed in quick strides, along with Castiel, Hermione and Gabriel. Soon enough, they all poured into the kitchen, where Dean was standing in front of the counter, beer in hand.

"Really?" Hermione asked incredulously.

"Well, not for you, Sabrina, you're not even old enough." Dean told her.

"I'll have you know, that the legal drinking age in Britain is eighteen." She scowled at him.

"But you don't even like beer." Gabriel pointed out.

"No, but I would have liked the option, you know?" She grumbled.

"Dean?" Sam prompted, when his brother had stalled.

Dean sighed. "What? We hit Amara with everything we got, and she walked it off."

"So, what? It's last call?" Sam asked, his brow wrinkled in confusion.

Dean nodded. "That's right. Look, man – if you've got something for me to punch, shoot or kill, let me know and I'll do it. I'll do it till I die. But how are we supposed to fix the friggin' sun?" He sighed in resignation.

Hermione sighed, and turned to walk out the door. She didn't want to be a witness to Dean Winchester's breakdown, because in her mind, it was her fault. They _hadn't_ hit her with everything. She could have summoned _dozens_ more witches and wizards, bit she didn't. Why? Because they couldn't work together? No. I was her own arrogance, and reluctance to deal with the inevitable questions that would come from her friends.

She felt Gabriel's hand grab hers, and she turned around to give him a half-smile.

"I'm going to go check on dad. You going to be okay?" He asked her worriedly.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." She assured him, trying hard to keep a straight face. As soon as Gabriel turned his back, she turned around as well, walking down towards the room they had stayed in, tears streaming down her face.

…

Gabriel walked into the library, finding his dad in a chair, being fussed over by Rowena. He grimaced at her saccharine voice, that sounded like the hypnotizing swaying of a cobra, seconds before it kills you.

"Charles, I'll put the kettle on. My mum always said, there's nothing a nice wee cup of tea can't fix."

She walked past him, and rolled her eyes at his scowl.

"She's using you" came from Crowley, who Gabriel hadn't seen lurking in the shadow. "It's what she does. Find someone with power, cozies up – digs her claws in."

"Yeah, well, I'm not helping anyone right now, obviously. She's been… nice" Chuck shrugged

Gabriel caught Crowley's eyes over the head of his father, and imitated throwing up.

Crowley rolled his eyes "For now."

"Well, now is kind of all we've got." Chuck pointed out.

Crowley made a face. "Whatever. I'm not calling you dad."

"Hey!" Gabriel interrupted, indignant. "Screw calling him dad, there's no way I'll call that snake mom. Or you brother." He shuddered.

"Oh, am I grating on your delicate sensibilities?" Crowley asked amused.

"Look. I'll be frank – I kinda hate you." Gabriel said.

"But?"

"No no, that's it." Gabriel smiled.

…

Hermione sat on the bed, staring at the phone she had dug out of her pocket. How would she even begin to explain, what had happened? After a while, she realized, she wouldn't be able to find an answer to that and decided to call anyway. She waited with a bated breath, as she listened to the tone, indicating that the phone was making a call.

"Hermione?" The tired voice, indicated, that Harry had seen her Caller ID.

"Hi Harry." She whispered wetly.

"Hermione? What's wrong?" He asked worriedly.

"I broke the world, Harry. It's all my fault!" She was now crying in earnest.

"Hermione, that's silly." Harry sounded amused.

"No, Harry. I know it's still dark back home, but find a television and turn it on. It's hard to explain, but it's my fault. I should have called you for help."

"For help? With what?" He asked, now starting to sound nervous.

"It's complicated. I didn't want to burden you with it, and now it backfired." She told him, sounding desolate.

"You know what? Tell me where you are. Then you can explain it to me."

Hermione sighed, hesitating. "… How far are you from Lebanon, Kansas?"

Harry chuckled. "You've got to be kidding me."

Hermione gave him the exact coordinates and used her wand to remove the evidence of her crying. Snot free and without red, puffy eyes, she stood up, with the intention to go outside to wait for him. Instead, she ran into her angel, who was coming towards her, frowning. She noted with amusement, that his wings were twitching with irritation, rather than bristling in anger or drooping like an injured canary. That was good, at least.

"What's got your wand in a knot?"

He raised an eyebrow at her, trying to gauge whether the innuendo had been intentional or not, and was rewarded, with a profound blush spreading across her cheeks.

"Have you ever experienced your parents flirting?" He asked her, exasperated.

She looked at him quizzically "Very rarely. And only with each other." She grimaced.

"Ugh. It's just so _gross_! And _embarrassing_!" Gabriel whined.

Hermione giggled, shook her head and kissed him lightly on the cheek. She tried to maneuver around him, but Gabriel was having none of that and shoved her against the wall, kissing her deeply.

…

Harry really didn't know, what to make of the situation he had found himself in. Hermione wasn't known for being overdramatic, so crying over the phone seemed very uncharacteristic. Then again, she had made some rather uncharacteristic choices lately. At first, he had thought that maybe her arsehole of a roommate had broken her heart. He would have come either way, but her talking of a broken world made it feel a little more urgent.

He had thought she might have overreacted, just a tad. She generally put a lot of pressure on herself, but staring at the burnt orange sky made what she said a little more plausible.

He was so preoccupied, that he failed to notice two sets of footsteps moving closer to him. He hadn't noticed the roar of the engine of the black car that had pulled up next to him, not until he was lying face first against the hood of said car.

"Who the hell are you" A gruff voice growled from behind him. He supposed the speaker was also the owner of the hand, pushing his face down against the cold metal.

"Uh, Dean?" Another voice said, hesitantly. "Perhaps it would be best to continue this inside?" Harry watched as a pair of polished shoes walked in front of the car, attached to a pair of legs and a tan trench coat.

"Fine" His captor grumbled and lifted him off the car, but stayed behind him, twisting his arm painfully as he marched them down a small flight of stairs to an entrance set into the ground. Absently, Harry was reminded of a hobbit hole, but it wasn't nearly as cozy, and the inhabitants were obviously far too violent.

He was marched down more stairs into a room that made him think of the old spy movies about the Cold War, he would sometimes sneak down to watch in the middle of the night, when he was still living with the Dursley's.

They walked into a room lined with books, tables and chairs, that were occupied by unfamiliar people.

"Harry!" He heard Hermione's voice exclaim somewhere to the left.

"What? You know this guy?" The guy slacked the grip on his arm and shoulder, and Harry wrestled himself out.

"Merlin's left tit, Hermione!" He yelled. "You could have warned me!"

He looked at her, and saw her tousled hair and swollen lips – she really didn't look heartbroken.

"Hermione, what the hell is going on? Who are these people?" He asked, gesturing around.

"Oh!" A voice softly exclaimed "The savior himself!" It sounded in Scottish and a woman, dressed in what would be appropriate for a ball approached him.

Harry sighed and ran a hand across his face. "Not one of those, Hermione?"

Hermione huffed. "No, she's not a golddigger. Are you, Rowena?" She ground out.

"Oh, no no, just a wee bit star struck, is all." The woman said, sweetly.

"Rowena? I take it she's one of ours?" Harry asked Hermione rhetorically.

"No. Not exactly." Hermione replied, narrowing her eyes at the red head.

"Maybe we could sit down and make some introductions and you can explain what's going on?" Harry suggested, taking a seat at a nearby table

"Harry, my man!" A dreaded voice sounded, making Harry bury his face in his hands. He sighed deeply, trying to calm himself.

"Gabriel." He groaned, looking up to see the shit-eating grin his nemesis was sporting.

"How's it going with that hair trimmer I sent you?"

"Piss off, you wanker." Harry grumbled, vaguely hearing Hermione hissing "You did what?!" at Gabriel in the corner. That made him smirk. He leaned back in the chair, observing everyone else in the room. There was the guy with the trench coat, the ball-gown woman, a short man with a full beard drinking whiskey, the man who had caught him who was still scowling at him, a man he supposed must be a half-giant and a sick looking guy, who his eyes finally landed on.

"You. You're different."

The man nodded appreciatively. "Sharp as ever, Harry. Just call me Chuck."

…

Hi guys! Thank you so much for your kind reviews and for following this story! It's truly humbling that people actually want to read, what I write. I find that amazing. Keep on reviewing – it really makes me so happy, when you do!

Love, from Leo


	17. Chapter 17

Harry looked at each of the occupants in the room. Most of them seemed uncomfortable with each other, and he could sense something off with several of the people there, but he refrained speaking about auras, because he was afraid of sounding too much like Luna. "Could we perhaps make some introductions?"

Hermione looked around, insecurely. "Well, you obviously know Gabriel and myself. And Rowena you've met. The gentlemen who followed you in are Dean and Castiel.

"Not bloody gentle" Harry grumbled. "Something is off about him." He gestured vaguely in Castiel's direction.

"I'm an angel of the lord." The trench coated man replied seriously. Harry's eyes rose high up his forehead. "There's the same stuff around your boyfriend" He turned back to Hermione, who blushed.

Gabriel smirked widely. "Archangel here." He said, waving a hand.

Harry shook his head lightly "Insane."

Hermione snorted. "You don't even know half of it. The tall one over there is Sam, he's Dean's brother. They hunt the supernatural."

"Like 'us' supernatural?" Harry's eyes widened as Hermione slowly nodded.

"And I'm Crowley. King of Hell. I'm a demon." The short man in the black suit stepped forward and offered his hand to Harry, who just looked at it in horror.

"Demon? Seriously? What's going on?" He turned to look at Hermione, who looked like she'd rather not be put on the spot for once. She was fidgeting with the hem of her shirt, and looked at the ceiling, before turning to him to answer.

"There's been a kind of crisis. Or, well, it's still going on, I suppose, but it's gotten worse. I didn't want to involve you. God knows you've had enough on your plate – "

"Yeah, I really do." Chuck nodded. Harry narrowed his eyes at him, trying to determine whether or not the man was joking.

Hermione cleared her throat "Yes, well. We made an attack, and we failed. It was my fault. I should have asked you for help" She started crying again, and Gabriel put an arm around her, drawing her close.

Chuck sighed "Hermione, I honestly think it wouldn't have made a difference."

"How – how can you say that?" She hiccupped. "You're dying! The sun is dying!"

"The sun?" Harry interrupted. "The bloody sun is dying?"

"And God" Hermione whispered. "God is dying too."

Harry's eyes widened comically. "So that's what was so different about him." He breathed.

Chuck nodded ruefully. "Not for much longer though."

"So, we need to do something." Sam butted in. "We kill Amara."

"Wait, so now you want to kill her? You're cool with this?" Dean asked, incredulously.

Sam huffed "Look, Chuck's dying. No offence, God."

Chuck rolled his eyes. "Yeah, no, I – I'm dying. So we don't really have a choice. I mean, look. You've got darkness and light. You take away one side and – " He forced out.

"It upsets the scales – the whole balance of the universe" Castiel supplied.

"Exactly. But if you take both away, then both sides of the scale are empty" Sam continued.

"Of course. It's balanced." Castiel finished.

Dean nodded. "Right, yes, okay. Hey, I'm game, but how exactly are we gonna do this? I mean, Lucifer hit her with a-a Hand of God, and, well, we saw how that turned out."

"She does seem impossible to destroy" Castiel agreed.

Crowley sat down at the table, rolling his eyes. "If he can die, then so can she. They're equal, after all." He said, nodding at Chuck.

Harry's head was spinning. "I think you need to give me some backstory, here." He said, rubbing his scar, out of habit.

Chuck sighed. "Well, as mentioned earlier, I am – I am God. But just call me Chuck. Amara is my sister, who is hellbent on destruction. I may or may not have held her trapped for a couple of billion years."

Harry's brow wrinkled in confusion "But I thought there was supposed to be nothing before the beginning?"

"Well, that's a common misconception." Chuck nodded sheepishly.

"Yeah, because we weren't allowed to speak about it." Gabriel muttered under his breath.

Chuck scowled at him.

"Anywho. She was a bit upset at me keeping her caged, so she decided to destroy the world I created. She is the opposite to me. I'm the Light, the creator, she's the Darkness, the destroyer"

Harry smiled without humor. "So, we need to save the world, eh?"

"Yes!" Sam exclaimed. "So, how do we do it? Chuck?"

Chuck shrugged. "Well, I mean – Well, I – " He floundered.

"Well, Chuck?" Hermione sighed, exasperated.

He sighed. "All right. Fine. The Darkness might have a weakness."

"Which is?" Crowley scowled at Chuck, when he took away his drink.

"Light," Chuck said, downing Crowley's glass of whiskey.

Hermione nodded, thinking about her conversation with Lucifer.

"Now he tells us" Crowley sighed incredulously.

"What? I just wanted to trap her. I didn't want to murder her." Chuck swallowed.

"Okay, but now that we _are_ trying to end her, how much light are we talking about?" Sam asked indelicately, making Hermione nudge him with her elbow.

"I don't know" Chuck shrugged. "10,000 suns set to supernova?"

Dean looked at him "Well, you're God. So, just god them up."

Chuck chuckled self-deprecatingly. "Look at me. I'm not really in the best shape right now."

"Okay, that's all right" Sam nodded. "We just need other ideas." He looked around the room "Rowena – What about the Book of the Damned?"

She shook her head slowly. "This is beyond even that."

"Hermione?" He looked at her expectantly.

"I may have an idea, but it's not going to be anywhere near enough. Perhaps we could use the same kind of strategy, attack in several turns to weaken her?" She suggested.

"That could be a plan. Crowley?"

"Oh, I got nothing" Crowley shrugged.

"Well, what about souls? They fuel your demon deals." Castiel pointed out. Hermione and Harry looked at him questioningly. "Souls are living batteries. They're full of energy. Full of light. Each one is as powerful as… a hundred suns?" He tried to explain.

"He's not wrong." Rowena butted in.

"Okay, so if we got this kind of juice. Then what?" Dean asked.

"You get me enough souls… I can build a bomb." Rowena said thoughtfully.

"Would that do the trick?" Dean asked Chuck.

"Uh, maybe?" He shrugged unhelpfully.

"But – " Hermione tried

"Alright. Plan B." Sam interrupted

"Guys?"

"Okay, how many souls are we talking about here?" Dean asked Rowena

"The more, the better."

"Even if you could get that kind of firepower – you really think it would work?" Crowley argued, and Hermione felt ready to stomp her foot.

"GUYS! If we go through with that. A bomb like that, with that much power – wouldn't it obliterate the rest of the planet along with Amara?"

Chuck bit his lip. "I don't know, honestly. Souls are a bit unpredictable like that."

Sam took a deep breath. "It's a risk we have to take. Either way, the world is dying as it is. We are at a point, where we really can't make much more damage." He looked at her heavily and Gabriel put a hand on her shoulder.

Castiel sighed deeply "I can ask the angels. Heaven is full of souls."

"Okay. What else have we got?" Sam rubbed his face.

"Ghosts." Dean added. Sam raised an eyebrow at him. "What? They're just souls with baggage, right?"

"Yeah, but we would need a whole lot of them." Sam pointed out.

Dean nodded thoughtfully. "Waverly Hills."

"Waverly Hills Sanatorium." Sam nodded, chuckling. "Of course. Thousands died there."

Harry frowned at the two of them. "And you're not going to ask the ghosts if they want to?"

Sam looked at him confusedly "No?"

"But that's not fair. They will cease to exist." Harry argued.

"Look, Harry was it? These aren't friendly ghosts. They will rip your guts out if you let them. Besides, they're already dead and most of them are suffering." Dean told him pointedly.

Harry made a face, thinking about Nick, his old house ghost. He knew about poltergeists, of course, but other than Peeves, who was more mischievous than malignant, he didn't have much experience with them.

He swallowed and nodded once, locking eyes with Hermione. "Fine. But I would prefer if one of us went with you."

Crowley sighed. "This is desperate. And stupid."

"Well, desperate and stupid's pretty much all we got now." Dean pointed out.

"Fine." Crowley made a face and leaned back in his chair. "I'll got raid Hell and see what's left." He sighed.

"Do you think we need more backup?" Harry asked Hermione.

She nodded thoughtfully, still ashamed. "Yes, I think it's all hands on deck."

"Wait, what do you mean, more backup?" Dean scowled. "More witches?"

Harry nodded. "And wizards"

"Not in my house, you don't." Dean growled.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Dean has an issue with witches."

"What, but he's willing to work with a demon?" Harry asked incredulously.

"I just don't like too many people knowing the location of this place" Dean grumbled.

"Okay, we'll find somewhere else then." Hermione conceded. "How many do you think still have their coins?" She asked Harry who smiled.

"Just a thing, dearie. I need that book you have in that wee little bag" Rowena interrupted saccharinely. A tone of voice that sent chills down Harry's spine. He watched as Hermione tensed, but she fished out a grisly looking book nonetheless.

Rowena reached to take it, but Hermione held it back. "Under supervision only" She growled at the other witch.

"Uh, right. Let's get to work?" Sam cut them off in a fake cheerful voice. It was going to be a long day, Harry decided.

…

Harry had seen plenty of horror movies. Certainly enough, not to want to enter the dilapidated building in front of him. His two companions had other ideas though, and he had no choice but to keep up. He had signed himself up after all.

"You really think this is going to work?" Dean asked skeptically.

Sam shrugged. "Rowena said it would."

"Oh. Yeah. 'It's a Book of the Damned spell, boyos. Take this wee crystal. It'll suck up all the blimey ghosts. Just say the magic word'" Dean mocked in a horrible Scottish accent.

"Hey, don't forget. Hermione signed off on that too." Harry argued.

Dean scoffed. "Yeah, like that means anything to me." He grumbled

In a second, the hunter was lying flat on his back with a wand pressed against his trachea. "It bloody well should." Harry growled. "It's thanks to her, the world isn't under a magical dictatorship right now."

"Easy there, tiger. She already has a boyfriend" Dean said, with the tiniest hint of bitterness.

Harry sighed exasperatedly. "Why does everyone think it's like that?" He asked, standing up and brushing off his knees. "Hermione is literally the smartest witch in generations and she so happens to be my best friend. She's like a sister to me."

Sam raised his hands. "Okay. No disrespect" He glanced pointedly at Dean, who scowled back. "We have a job to do." He reminded them.

They turned back towards the building, and another shudder ran through Harry.

The inside might as well have been the outside. The elements had had free range over the years and there was water and dry leaves everywhere. Sam had taken out the EMF detector and was trying to explain the functionality of it, but Harry could barely hear him over the wailing that came from the machine.

Harry sucked in a breath, when he saw he first ghost flickering in a doorway. It was going in and out of focus and came towards them before disappearing again.

"Place really lives up to the hype" Sam remarked casually.

"Yes, it does" Dean agreed.

"They're so broken." Harry whispered.

"What?" Dean looked at him incredulously.

"Ghost's don't look like that, where I come from." Harry shook his head. "And I've seen plenty of them. I was at a deathday party once."

Sam raised his eyebrows. "A party?" He asked skeptically, but Harry only nodded as they entered, what he guessed must have been the dayroom, when the Sanatorium had been functional.

"Alright. Let's bust some ghosts." Dean smirked.

Sam took out a canister of salt and started making lines around the room. Harry looked on skeptically.

"It's going to keep them in the room." Dean explained. "But where the hell are they? Get your Casper asses out here!" He yelled.

"You know what? Why don't you finish up? I'll go piss them off." Sam tossed Harry the canister, and Harry looked in horror as the tall hunter ran down the hall, armed with a shotgun. Suddenly a ghost materialized right next to Harry, and Dean shot it with a round of rock salt, making Harry almost pee in his pants.

"Salt or iron. You should arm yourself, there's a crowbar in the bag." Dean nodded towards the military bag in the middle of the room, which was overflowing with weapons and salt and the crystal they were supposed to trap the ghosts in.

Harry gulped and grabbed the weapon, just in time to swing it at a ghost that was rushing towards him, obviously with no good intentions.

It didn't take long before Sam was running back towards the room, shooting as he went.

"Alright, I think it worked!"

In seconds, the room was flooded in ghosts, all trying to kill them. Harry swung the crowbar like a madman. Dean and Sam were shooting salt rounds, trying to keep the ghosts at bay. Dean kneeled at the bag, trying to get to the crystal, but was attacked, making the crystal slide across the floor in Harry's direction. Sam was being choked by a ghost that looked even larger than him.

Harry fended off the ghost that was coming at him, and he threw himself to the floor, grabbing the stone. He realized then, that he didn't know the word to trigger the spell.

"Dean! Magic word!" He yelled and threw the crystal high in the air.

"Haggis!" Dean cried.

If felt as if time stood still, and as if all oxygen was sucked out of the room the same as the ghosts. A purple light shone from the crystal, blinding them, and in a split second, it was all over and the three of them sat on the floor panting.

"Go, magic word, huh?" Sam remarked.

Harry snorted. "Haggis? Really?"

…

Hi guys! Thanks for following still! You're awesome! So, Harry is in the game now. I hope you keep liking the story and that I'm not changing too much. Hermione and Gabriel are definitely coming back in focus again. This is their story, after all.

I hope to get some reviews from you guys out there! It doesn't take a lot of minutes :D

Love from Leo


	18. Chapter 18

Back in the bunker, things were looking glum when they returned.

"So. What's up?" Dean asked as they descended the stairs leading down to the war room. He threw the bag on the table and sat down next to it. Harry went over to sit next to Hermione, who was sitting in a chair next to Gabriel.

Hermione looked over the faces that were painted in various degrees of disappointment. She was especially keeping an eye on Rowena. She had the idea, that the witch would try and make off with the Book of the Damned, but she had returned it to Hermione promptly after fixing up the spell for the crystal, making Hermione even more suspicious. The redhead was playing all the horses she could find though, and at the moment she was sitting on the small steps that led to the library, mothering Chuck, much to Crowley and Gabriel's disgruntlement.

Castiel sighed. "The angels are – Heaven won't help."

Dean frowned. "They know this is the end, right? Of everything. Including Heaven."

"Yes." Castiel nodded dejectedly.

"What, and they don't care?" Sam questioned.

Castiel huffed. "No, it's not that. It's…"

"They know that God is dying, and they don't think we can win this. Souls or no souls. They're sealing Heaven and are quote: "Dying with dignity". I even made a killer sales pitch." Gabriel frowned.

"Well, that's awesome" Dean said, his voice leaking sarcasm.

Sam sighed. "All right, Crowley. What about you?"

"Well, I _had_ all the souls we needed." The demon snarked.

Dean narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean "Had"?"

"While I was indisposed, a few of my demonic pals decided to raid my stash!" Crowley fumed.

"Well, what we have – it's not enough." Castiel pointed out.

In a matter of seconds, all hell broke loose. Red lights started flashing, and everyone reached for their weapons. Hermione had already been on edge and had her wand in hand, stunning spell on the tip of her tongue. Gabriel had been trying to teach her not to rely on the magical piece of wood, or 'the stick' as he called it, but old habits die hard, and since they were picked up by the Winchesters she had taken to keeping it on her person again.

"Well, that could be nothing but good news" Crowley rolled his eyes.

Footsteps were heard from the entrance to the bunker, and wands, angel blades and guns were aimed to fire. The door opened and a black skinned woman in a leather jacket looked around appreciatively.

"Nice digs."

Harry instantly relaxed, to everyone's confusion and lowered his wand. Dean and Sam soon followed though.

"Billie" Harry greeted. And Dean and Sam looked at him as if he had grown a second head.

"Wait, you two know each other?" Sam uttered incredulously.

"If you're here about the offer, I'm still not saying yes." Harry looked at the reaper pointedly.

Billie smiled at him sweetly. "I know, Honey. That's not why I'm here."

"Who is she?" Rowena asked.

"Billie. She's a reaper, and she wants us dead. Tons of fun" Dean replied sarcastically, narrowing his eyes at Harry for the familiarity the two were displaying.

"Harry, what offer is a reaper making to you?" Hermione asked shakingly, dreading the answer.

Harry sighed heavily. "Apparently, some morons decided to kill Death. The reapers want me to take up the mantle."

Dean looked down ashamedly. He had forgotten about that mishap.

Hermione covered her mouth with her hands. It was all too much. Harry had known he would never be normal, but this was too much to demand of anyone. Starting out as The Boy who lived, and ending as Death himself. They had discussed at length, what kind of consequences there would be from using the Deathly Hallows, but this was beyond imagination.

"Wait a minute, why would she want you to take over? No offence, but what's so special about you?" Sam questioned.

Harry rubbed a hand over his face, but it was Billie, who answered.

"That's what's to be expected when you're the Master of Death." She said, smirking.

"The what?" Dean asked uncomprehendingly.

"No! You didn't?" Rowena exclaimed. "The Hallows? Even I thought they were just a children's tale"

"I wish" Harry mumbled darkly.

"Would someone just explain what's going on?" Dean exploded.

Billie turned to him, staring at him with an eerie glint in her eyes.

"But if you're not here about that, then what are you doing here?" Harry asked, trying desperately to dodge Deans questions.

"I saw you boys at Waverly Hills, and call me a curious kitten, but with credits about to roll, I gotta ask – why are you boys busting ghosts?" Billie asked, looking at each of them in turn.

Gabriel didn't like the way the reaper looked at him and Hermione. He knew Hermione was going to die someday. Lucifer had been right about that, but that didn't mean he wanted to think about it. Averting his thoughts proved difficult with a freaking reaper, staring at Hermione as if she wanted to consume her. He thought about pranking her, but knew she would come out on top. Archangels might be powerful, but reapers were another deal entirely. That didn't stop him from imagining her with pink hair though.

Dean made a face "Why do you care?"

She gave him a deadpan look "Dead folks. Kind of my thing. So – spill."

"We're collecting souls to build a bomb" Sam sighed.

"To blow the Darkness to hell." Dean nodded towards the bag, with the crystal that was glowing.

Billie nodded. "Okay"

Dean and Sam both looked at her, frowning.

"Uh, what do you mean "okay"?" Gabriel asked her.

She sighed "Means the way things are going, I'm about an hour away from reaping God himself" She gestured at Chuck, who was slumped between Rowena and the wall.

"So you're here to help us?" Castiel asked.

Billie tilted her head. "Little tip – you want souls, call a reaper."

She walked closer to the table, but Dean went to stand between her and the crystal.

"Whoa there, sister." He frowned at her.

She gave him a deadpan look (no pun intended) "Dean, the way things are, do you really have anything to lose?"

Dean held his ground, and Gabriel huffed. "Just give the girl the damn rock."

In the end, Harry summoned the stone with his wand and gave it to Billie, Dean scowling at him.

"Oh, give it up, Dean. Death and reapers are all about balance. If there's anyone who would want to help, it's her." Harry rolled his eyes.

"Fine" The surly hunter conceded.

Billie winked at Harry and took the stone. When she held it out in front of her, the purple crystal started glowing, and the others looked in awe as the glowing lights of souls came streaming through the room and into the stone. All to soon it was done and Billie was standing with the stone, which was now shining brightly.

"How many souls are in there?" Gabriel asked curiously.

"A couple hundred… thousand. A raided the Veil. Like I said, dead folks – kind of my thing." Billie smirked. "We good?" She asked Rowena

"Very" Rowena eyed the stone hungrily and went to take it, but Hermione cut her off.

"That's not going to happen" Hermione narrowed her eyes at the other witch.

Rowena pursed her lips. "Fine. See if I care."

Harry started to be very curious about what Hermione knew that he didn't.

Billie rolled her eyes and started to walk out "Super"

"See you around" Dean called out to her.

"Yeah. You will. Just hope it's not today." She replied over her shoulder.

"So, what now?" Castiel asked when the reaper had left the building.

Dean shrugged "Well, now we have the bomb, so we just got to find Amara."

"I can track her. She's not warded anymore. Why would she be? She won." Chuck bid in weakly.

"But we still need someone to get close to her for the bomb to work. Someone with a personal connection?" Gabriel asked, waggling his eyebrows at Dean who huffed

"Well, what are we waiting for then? How do I smuggle this thing?"

"We could always shove up your – " Crowley started.

"Hey!" Dean interrupted, indignant

"I mean, you could" The demon shrugged.

"You won't carry the bomb. You'll _be_ the bomb" Rowena looked to Hermione for help.

Gabriel looked at Hermione, frowning.

"I'm completely against this, for the record. She wants to take what's in there and put it in here." She stood up and pointed from the stone, and put a hand on Dean's chest, much to Gabriel's consternation.

"Once you get close to her, you press your fingers together like so – and boom" Rowena continued, pinching together her thumb and forefinger.

Dean frowned and sighed, and Hermione realized she still had a hand on his chest. She quickly removed it and went to stand next to Gabriel, who put his arm around her.

"Okay." The hunter agreed.

"I want to try something else first though. We have a group of witches and wizards coming in about an hour. We have our own kind of magic to try." Hermione said, narrowing her eyes at Rowena.

…

Gabriel had a… tense relationship with most of Hermione's friends. They felt as if he had stolen her from them, which in all fairness, he had. Especially the lanky ginger with the bad complexion and worse attitude was coming down on him. He had thought his little visit would have made an impression, but unfortunately the guy had a hard time understanding a hint. Or direct speech as it was. The rodent was nothing if not persistent.

He liked the blonde chick. She might have seemed spaced out, but it was very rare to meet a human as perceptive as she was.

Her world was so ruled by intuition alone, that he highly doubted she even needed her large eyes to navigate. He had often toyed with the idea of taking away her vision, if only to see what would happen, but every time he thought about it, Hermione would send him a look that made him wonder if she could read his mind. He was looking forward to seeing her again.

Dean had believed so highly in his odds of survival, that he had gone on a festive trip to see his mothers grave. His brother and pet angel accompanying him, of course. As much as Gabriel loved his little brother, Castiel's obsession with the elder Winchester was starting to annoy him.

At the moment, he was standing around with Hermione and Harry, in a sorry excuse of a bar, waiting for the witches and wizards to come. The owner of the place had apparently decided that they didn't need to make more money since the world was ending. A healthy point of view in his opinion, and he didn't mind pouring his own drinks. He caught Hermione frowning at him, as he came, carrying three glasses of whiskey. She still took it, however grudgingly. Harry just stared suspiciously at the liquor.

"Will it turn any part of me purple?" He asked the archangel.

"Would I ever?" Gabriel looked at Harry innocently.

When Harry kept staring at him in suspicion, he rolled his eyes. "It's fine, don't worry. Your precious curls will stay the way they are."

Hermione looked at him in confusion "But Harry doesn't have cu – oh." She made a face.

They all looked up at the first popping sound that came from outside.

At the second pop, they heard a muffled "Blimey, move over!"

Soon there were so many popping sound, that Gabriel was almost waiting for the ping of a microwave.

When the popping sounds stopped, they all went outside.

"Hermione!"

Hermione looked up at the sound of her name, only to be tackled by a long limbed red-haired male

"Oomph! Get off me Ronald" She grunted.

Gabriel frowned. It was going to be a hard day.

…

One more chapter! Hope you're all enjoying the story so far. It's getting more and more complicated!

Please leave a review for me. It won't take long :)

Love from Leo


	19. Chapter 19

It had been all of two seconds and Gabriel already had a headache. He sneered before peeling the ginger off Hermione, trying very hard to resist the temptation to break every bone in his body. _Ronald_ paid him no mind though, and just kept on gushing over his girl.

"Blimey, Hermione! It's so good to see you! You're looking great!"

By the looks of it, he wasn't the only one to be unappreciative of the situation. A girl with facial scars was standing near the exit, frowning at the scene.

"We were worried. What's going on?" Another redhead butted in. Gabriel rolled his eyes. It was like the invasion of gingers. There were others as well, but the Weasleys had a certain presence to them, that would only be overdone by Luna, who was also standing, smiling at him. The guy he knew as Neville was there as well along with scar-girl, who he hadn't met before.

He was startled though, when Hermione took his hand, looking at him, prompting him to speak.

"Well, uh." He started eloquently. He scratched his neck and started pacing. It was incredible how nervous you could get, even as an all-powerful archangel, being put on the spot like that.

"The thing is, that you guys don't know all that much about me."

"Yeah, no kidding" Ron's voice sounded in the background.

He bit his lip, fantasizing about giving the idiot a wedgie that would reach the ceiling. Coming out was much harder than he had anticipated. He looked down to his feet, but smiled, when he felt Hermione squeezing his hand. He sighed and looked back at the crowd of people, who all looked curious to finally get some information on Hermione's mysterious roommate.

"I'm not really a wizard, as some of you might have believed. Hell, I'm not even human." He saw Luna standing in the back, smiling knowingly. It was strange how some people could give you comfort and freak you out simultaneously.

"Then, what are you?" Ginny asked, frowning skeptically.

"I'm an angel." He looked around at all the varied expressions of disbelief. Except for Luna of course, she was still just smiling serenely.

Ron snorted "That's barmy."

"Why are you always so skeptical, Ronald? You didn't believe in the Crumple-Horned Snorkack either." Luna interrupted in her dreamy voice, making Gabriel crack a smile.

Ron floundered for a moment, apparently struggling to find a way to tell his friend that he _still_ didn't believe in the elusive magical entity that Luna had been working towards discovering with her father since early childhood.

"That - that's not the point." He ended up stuttering "How do we know he's telling the truth?" He fumed.

Hermione frowned at him "How about because I say so? Because I trust him. And I've known all along. You wouldn't believe the things I've seen!" She finished smiling at the fond memories.

Ron looked at her with betrayal. "So, you're saying that it's true, and you've known all along and you've been lying to us all this time?"

"Hermione, what's going on?" Ginny implored, stepping closer to them.

Hermione sighed. "It's true. Gabriel is an angel, an archangel more precisely, which makes his father God."

"Wow, you're really moving up, Hermione" The girl who had been frowning at Hermione and Ron said with one of the fakest smiles Gabriel had seen.

Hermione for her part just rolled her eyes. "I'm not moving up, down or sideways, Lavender. We really have other issues at hand at the moment."

Lavender crossed her arms defensively. "Fine. What issues then?"

"God is dying. His sister, Amara, also known as the Darkness before all creation was let out of the cage she had been in for billions of years. Needless to say, she wasn't happy about being imprisoned for so long, but God is adamant that it was necessary for him to be able to create the world. Now, she wounded him and he is slowly dying. The darkness is taking over because the light is dying and we need to do something about Amara, in order to restore the balance." Hermione ranted.

"It does seem rather farfetched." Ginny said carefully.

"Yeah, well. You guys aren't exactly run of the mill either." Gabriel argued, suddenly feeling defensive about his heritage.

"Listen." Harry interrupted, to Gabriel's relief. "They're telling the truth. I met God myself, he's even inside, if you don't believe me. And I know that the most of you, who've met Gabriel know, that he's not exactly your everyday wizard, I've certainly seen him reach a level of craziness, that otherwise can't be explained. We need to do this. The world is literally going to end, and we need to try everything if we're going to have even the slightest hope of saving it." He pointed out, now in full on savior mode.

Gabriel had to hand it to him – the guy was good. All the others were standing, eating up every word he said – those people would follow him into battle without question. That kind of power was very dangerous, but luckily Harry was a good guy. So far at least.

"Look. I know most of you don't like me. I haven't exactly given you a reason to like me, I've pranked the most of you within an inch of your life" He ignored Hermione's disapproving frown. "This is bigger than that though. This is about the entire world an all its animals, men, women, children and everything in between." He looked at them in turn. "Let's go inside."

"Wait, before we go in, I want you to understand that this is a desperate situation, which means that all hands are on deck. Even the more unsavory ones." Hermione made a face, thinking about Crowley and Rowena.

Several sets of eyebrows crinkled in confusion, but they all entered the bar anyhow.

Inside they were met by the sight of Chuck slumped in a chair at a pair of tables, next to Rowena who was looking much perkier and stood up as the group walked in. Crowley took a look at them and sighed deeply

"This? This is what you call a cavalry?" He asked, managing to sound equally incredulous and exasperated. "It's the end of the bloody world and this is who you call?"

"Oh, hush Fergus! Those children are heroes! You wouldn't understand." Rowena smiled in a way that best resembled a shark and a collective shudder went through the group.

"So, uh. This is God." Hermione started introducing.

"Yeah. I know I'm not looking so hot right now. Just call me Chuck."

"Crowley." The demon smiled mockingly.

"And I am Rowena, children." Rowena purred, opening her arms in welcome.

"It's a shame you don't live up to your name" Luna of all people snarked, her eyes narrowed at the red-haired witch in an expression Hermione hadn't seen on the young woman since fighting Bellatrix at the Battle of Hogwarts.

The dark witch's smile fell slightly at the barb, but she continued nevertheless. "Come in, ladies and gentlemen, take a seat."

The group all looked over at Harry and Hermione, who nodded at gestured at the tables at which Chuck sat.

"So. What's the plan?" Neville finally asked Harry.

"Right. Hermione?" Harry prompted.

"Amara is the darkness, and her weakness is light, but furthermore, she is hurt and emotionally unstable. What do any of you do, when you feel sad or lonely?" She asked the group.

"Drink?" Crowley suggested ever unhelpful.

"Patronus charm" Ginny smiled.

"Exactly. We fought her before, and she seemed affected from it, but I think if we send our collective patronuses at her, it could really make an impact." Hermione said excitedly. She looked at the others, who looked intrigued, except for George who sat back, frowning.

"The plan is that we all use the patronus charm and send them at her. At the very least, it's going to weaken her in preparation for the other attack we have planned." Harry continued.

They sat for a while, discussing the details of the plan as well as the plan sat in motion, with the soul bomb. Everyone was asking questions, intrigued by the situation, except for Chuck who was trying to stay alive, and George, who slipped outside unnoticed except by Gabriel, who slowly made his way after him.

Outside, George was pacing, but halted when he saw Gabriel coming out. Gabriel could see the muscles in his jaws working.

"Out with it. What's eating ya?"

"Why didn't you tell me?" The usually jovial ginger hissed.

"Uh, tell you what exactly?" Gabriel raised an eyebrow

George ran a hand down his face. "You know, we've laughed, we've shared some of the best pranks known to mankind, and you don't even tell me that you're an angel?"

"Well, I didn't really think it was relevant" Gabriel shoved his hands in his pockets defensively.

"Relevant? You didn't think it was relevant to tell me, that you had the ability to tell if my brother was in heaven or not!?" George exploded.

Gabriel sighed. "I hadn't really been able to check. I've been in exile you might say. But what do you think, honestly? Your brother, heaven or hell?" He asked rhetorically.

"Heaven. Obviously. Hell wouldn't be able to handle him." George shrugged dully.

"Exactly! I went there with all this hoo-hah going on. His heaven is completely insane. I don't even know how to describe it. They even labeled his door "danger zone" with yellow tape and everything. They never label doors. He's doing you proud up top, don't worry about that." Gabriel assured him.

George snorted.

Gabriel nodded slowly "Something else is up, isn't there?"

"I haven't been able to conjure a patronus since the Battle of Hogwarts. You know. Since Fred. All my best memories were with him, and now…"

Gabriel smiled at him and put a hand on his shoulder. "I've met him now, you know. And I think I know what he would tell you. Do you know?"

George bit his lower lip, trying desperately to hold back the tears. "I know." He nodded, trying to sober up.

"I'm gonna head inside – "

"Wait!" George interrupted. "You and Hermione?" he inquired.

"You shut up." Gabriel told him, but his smile and blossoming cheeks said more than he wanted to.

George smirked. "Oh, Fred would have skinned you."

"Really?" Gabriel asked incredulously.

"He never told me, but I knew. Hell, of course I knew. Just take care of her, yeah?" George looked at him pointedly.

Gabriel nodded seriously. Probably more serious than anyone had ever seen him. "Of course." He stretched his hand to George, who shook it firmly.

"Good. That's all I ask."

…

"Chuck?" Hermione asked once the majority of the questions had died down or been answered.

"Do you think it might work?" God groaned weakly.

"I think, at this time, that our choices are limited, at that it can't hurt." She told him carefully.

"She's still my sister, you know." He smiled ruefully.

Hermione nodded. "I know."

Chuck sighed. "Fine."

He snapped his fingers, and the whole group of witches and wizards were suddenly standing in a small park, looking around confusedly.

"Well, it's certainly different from apparition" Lavender pointed out after righting herself.

"It's you again" A voice interrupted.

Amara, the Darkness stood tall behind them.

"Amara." Hermione bowed her head in respect. "Please reconsider what you're doing to your brother and the rest of the world?"

Amara laughed. "Reconsider? That's funny. Don't you think I asked my _brother_ to ' _reconsider'_ locking me up for billions of years? No. My pain _will_ be felt." She ground out.

Hermione sighed. "Alright. Then you give us no choice." She raised her wand.

"Expecto patronum!" She cried along the seven other voices.

A stag, a lion, a cat, a horse, an otter, a hare, a squirrel and a dog, all shimmering in a silver light, came crashing towards the woman in black.

One after one, the animals went through Amara, making her shudder as she was flooded with the unfamiliar emotions they brought. Some held heartbreak and loss. Some the comfort of friends and family and some the all-consuming love that the owners had filled them with.

The group left one by one, with oddly misplaced popping noises, leaving Amara heaving on her hands and knees.

…

Thanks for reading you guys! I really hope you enjoyed the chapter and I would love if you would take a couple of seconds to leave a review. Thank you for following this story!

Love from Leo


	20. Chapter 20

When they returned to the bar, Dean, Castiel and Sam had arrived and were standing in the middle of the room, preparing for Dean to go face Amara. The popping from the apparition had Dean flinching every time, while Sam mostly just seemed fascinated.

"Would you stop that?! I'm on my last nerve as it is. It'll just end up with me vaporizing all of you!" Dean barked. Luckily the popping had stopped, all of them having apparated back into the bar. The witches and wizards gathered at a nearby table, Ron and Lavender shooting glares at the rest of the room.

Gabriel rolled his eyes. "Well what do you expect? Witches and wizards – that's how it is. What do you want them to do? Just walk through the front door?"

"Nobody asked you." Dean growled back.

"So, what now? They just say 'tag – you're it'? and you go kamikaze?" That earned Gabriel an elbow to the gut from Hermione.

Dean scowled at Gabriel, and then turned to Chuck, who was still sitting in a chair, looking morose.

"So. You cool with this?"

Chuck sighed and shook his head slowly. "No. Even after all she has done, Amara – she's still my sister. I really don't want to hurt her, and I definitely don't want her dead. She's my family, you know?"

Dean nodded awkwardly and was about to speak, when Chuck cut him off "I understand though. There was a reason I locked her away in the first place, you know?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I get it."

"Dean?" Castiel came up and put a hand on Dean's shoulder.

Dean turned around at gave the angel a hug. "Okay, alright."

"I could go with you." Castiel offered. Hermione thought it was sweet. Gabriel thought it was nauseating.

"No. No, I gotta do this alone. But if – when this works, Sam is going to be a mess. So, look out for him, okay? Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."

Castiel looked at Dean skeptically, like he was about to argue, but apparently the angel had developed enough social skills to know when to lie. Gabriel knew, that without a doubt, Sam would attempt to do something stupid – like trying to revive his disintegrated brother, and Castiel would be right next to him.

"Of course," Castiel nodded, ever loyal.

Dean nodded and squeezed the angel's shoulder "Thank you, for everything." He then turned to the rest of the room.

"Okay, I want a big funeral. All right? I'm talking epic, okay? Open bar, choir, Sabbath cover band and Gary Busey reading the eulogy."

Sam nodded, trying to keep it together "Done"

"And for my ashes – I like it here. You know, as far as eternal resting places go."

Gabriel barely resisted telling Dean, that odds were, that there would be no ashes. That if he followed through with the plan, odds were that he would be atomized. Hermione squeezed his hand, and from the look on her face, she knew it too.

"How did it go with you guys?" He murmured to her.

"I honestly haven't the foggiest. I have hopes, of course, but my faith is running a bit thin."

Gabriel looked at his father, who looked frailer by the minute. "Yeah, no kidding" he replied, absently.

"Okay, let's do this" Dean interrupted his thought process. The guy was obviously, a mess, his hands shaking, but trying and failing to put up a front of brass and confidence. Sam was standing in the corner, red eyed and sniffling.

Chuck sighed and gave him a last look before snapping his fingers, leaving an empty spot, where Dean had stood milliseconds ago.

"That's just not natural. Where's the sound?" Ron asked incredulously.

Chuck huffed and leaned back in his chair.

Gabriel blew a raspberry "There. Sound enough?" He snarked at the redhead.

Lavender huffed "No need to get snippy."

"I have every need to be snippy right now." Gabriel murmured lowly, seriously contemplating to turn all the make-up on the bimbo blue. He decided against it though – he might as well just turn her into a smurf.

"No, she's much too tall for that" Luna interrupted his thought process, having snuck up behind him.

"Yeah I know." He replied after recovering from the shock. It wasn't until after responding that he realized that he hadn't been speaking aloud.

Ginny had been sitting, looking at her hands, but looked up, shaking. "Do you need us for anything else? It's just, that if this really is the end – I would like to spend the time with the rest of the family."

Ron and George nodded in unison, and Harry squeezed Ginny's hand.

"Daddy would probably appreciate my help with the dinkyflumps as well." Luna stated, as if she was telling them that she should remember to do the laundry.

Lavender looked at Luna confusedly. "I should go home to my mum as well. She doesn't know that I left." She realized, her voice shaking.

One by one, the wizards came to hug Hermione close, each trying and failing to pretend that nothing was wrong and they would see each other next Tuesday for lunch.

Harry went over to Gabriel, punching him in the shoulder. "You take care of her. You hear?" He sniffed

Gabriel smiled wryly. "Loud and clear."

When everyone had gone, Hermione was an exhausted mess of tears and snot and she went to sit down next to Chuck, only to realize he was gone. She looked around at the shocked faces, but most of all at Gabriel, who looked devastated.

His father was gone, and he didn't get the chance to say goodbye.

Hermione covered her mouth with her hands, trying not to cry even more, and flinched, when Gabriel slammed a fist into a nearby table, turning the furniture to dust. The archangel kicked the door open and went outside.

Castiel stood up to go after his brother, but Sam grabbed his shoulder, when he saw Hermione stand to follow.

When she got outside, Gabriel was standing ramrod straight, staring into nothingness.

"I want to go home." He dully intoned.

"Me too" Hermione whispered. She took his hand, and in less than the blink of an eye, they were home in their own little universe, in the abandoned warehouse, where they had built a life. Everything looked deceptively normal, except for the dried-up boot prints in the hallway and the potions textbook that lay discarded on the couch, it's pages all crinkled.

Gabriel held her so tight, she was afraid he was going to break her ribs. She put her arms around him, to complete the embrace, and they stood like that for what felt like years or days or maybe a simple second, when all the sudden the sun outside started to brighten.

They looked at each other and stormed outside to look at the blue sky and the blinding sun.

…

Dean was surprised to find himself in a garden of all places. He didn't know what he had expected. A desert? Or a forest like last time?

Nevertheless, he found himself next to a bed of dead flowers and a small fountain.

"Dean. How did you find me?"

He turned around to come face to face with Amara.

"Does it matter? I'm here to give you what you want. Me."

Amara snorted "That's a change."

"Well, I can't just stand by and watch the world, my friends and my family die, so if becoming a part of you takes me away from that, then I'm in."

Amara smiled amusedly. "You and that bomb in your chest? Do you think I can't taste the power coming off of you? Please. The problem is you've never been able to hurt me. So, what makes this time any different?" She looked at him sadly.

Dean met her gaze. "I don't have a choice. What you're doing to the sun – "

"That's not me." She pointed out. "With my brother getting weaker, the scales are tipping away from light."

"And into darkness."

"Into nothing. When God's gone, the universe – everything will cease to exist. Including me." She pointed out. "My brother betrayed me. He locked me away for billions of years. He sent you to execute me." Her breath hitched as she sat down.

"No. No, he zapped me here, yes, but he didn't want this. This wasn't his idea. You're family. He doesn't want you dead. He doesn't want any of this. Is this what _you_ wanted?" Dean asked, walking closer.

"No." She said, frowning. "I just wanted to hurt him. I wanted to make him pay." She looked down, rubbing her chest.

"Yeah, that's revenge. It'll get you out of bed in the morning, and when you get it, it feels great. For about five minutes. I've been there. Me and Sam – we've had our fair share of fights – more than our share – but no matter how bad it got, we always made it right, because we're family. I need him, he needs me. And when everything goes to crap, that's all you've got – family.

Now, you might be an all-powerful being, but I think you're human where it counts. You simply need your brother."

Amara winced "Just stop" She rubbed her chest harder, breathing continuing to hitch.

"You don't want to be alone. Not really." Dean continued. "I mean, hell. Maybe that's why you wanted me. But deep down, you didn't really want me, because I'm not him."

Amara was breathing even harder and furiously rubbing her chest. "Stop it! What are you doing to me?!"

Dean blinked "Wha – I haven't done anything" He looked at her confusedly.

"Ye – Yes you are!" She stammered, her breath coming out in uneven huffs.

Dean looked around, searching for the cause of Amara's fit.

"It hurts! Why does it hurt so much? My chest feels so constricted and my eyes are leaking."

Dean frowned. "Leaking?" He went to take a closer look at her, and realized that she wasn't actually wounded.

"You're crying." He stated, sitting down next to her, feeling awkward.

"But that's a human thing to do, isn't it?" She half-sneered, more confused than angry.

"Tell me, what do you feel?" He asked her curiously.

"I told you. Chest – constricted." She growled.

"Then let's try something else – what do you want?"

"I want – I want my brother." She realized, now openly sobbing.

Dean nodded "Then you know what to do more than I do."

She leaned her head on Dean's shoulder and Dean looked up at Chuck, who had suddenly appeared, staggering in front of them. Dean hurried to stand up to support Chuck, leading him to sit next to his sister, who was looking at them wide-eyed.

"Why did you bring me here?" Chuck asked her, suppressing a groan.

Amara looked at him, struggling to find words. "Brother, I just – In the beginning, it was just you and me, and we were family. I loved you, and I thought – No, I knew that you – that you loved me."

"I did" Chuck nodded weakly. "I do." He sighed.

Amara sniffled "But then you went and you made all these other things. I hated them. I hated you, for needing something else, something that wasn't me. And then you locked me away" Her breathing hitched and Chuck took her hand.

"All I could think about was making you suffer" She confessed.

Chuck shrugged lightly "You had your reasons."

"I did." Amara nodded fervently "And I thought revenge would make me happy. But I was wrong. What you've made, it's – it's beautiful. It took me a long time, and some help to see that. I know that we can't go back to the way things were. I don't want to go back, but I wish – I wish we could just be family again." She stammered through tears.

Chuck smiled at her "I do too."

Amara squeezed his hand and raised the other to heal him.

Revitalized, Chuck stood up and rolled his shoulders and smiled at Dean "I think we're just gonna go away for a while and…"

"Yeah. Family meeting. I get it." Dean shrugged awkwardly.

"But first, we should probably -" Chuck walked over to dean and placed a hand on his chest, drawing out the bomb. Dean winced and groaned in pain.

"Better?" Chuck asked when he was done.

"Yeah" Dean breathed. "But what about us? What about Earth?"

Chuck smiled "Earth will be fine. It's got you… and Sam." He reassured him.

"Dean. You gave me what I needed most. I want to do the same for you." Amara smiled at him.

Dean frowned at her, but before he could ask her, the two entities had disappeared.

…

"Hi guys!" It suddenly sounded from behind them in the parking lot. Hermione almost peed herself, and Gabriel emitted a very manly squeak. He turned around and stared in wonder.

"Dad? Aunt Amara?" He asked incredulously.

"So! This is the place, huh?" Chuck beamed proudly at his son.

"Um, well. Yeah." Gabriel stammered.

"Gabriel. Hermione." Amara smiled. "Along with your friends, you two have helped me greatly. Gabriel, you held Lucifer back, when he wanted to kill me. Hermione – you showed me, what human emotions are. How, when some might seem burdensome and painful, they are a gift and something to be treasured. I wanted to give you a gift as well. I'm sure it will come to you in time, what it is."

Amara hugged Hermione and Gabriel awkwardly and turned back to her brother.

"We'll be seeing you kids soon again!" Chuck waved, and the two disappeared, leaving a flabbergasted couple in their wake.

…

Hi guys. So sorry for the delay on this. I've been stressed as hell. Hope it's worth the wait though. Please, please leave me a review, let me know what you think :)

Love from Leo


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